Her Reign
by The Real Ice Queen
Summary: Elsa discovers that she may have caused more problems than she realizes, putting Arendelle in the path of imminent danger from Weselton. However, she begins to suspect there is more going on then just a tiff over a trade ban. With help from Anna and a mysterious Lord can she overcome her demons in order to save Arendelle and become the monarch she was destined to be? Frozen Sequel.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello dear followers, let me start by apologizing for the long delay. I was not idle during that time I promise you, I've written nearly 40 pgs in word. From here on out the story is going to get fairly complex and I really needed to take some time and plan it all out. I'm really excited I did, I think a lot of it really makes sense for the Frozen universe and I hope you all like my take on things. There are a lot of things I want to cover in the story that will be intertwined with the plot I've set up already: origins of Elsa's powers, a bit of history into Arendelle, the King and Queen and Vlad. Where I want to go with this story really needed more depth on all of them, so I made the decision to write a prologue that delves into the backstories I just mentioned. Now, this ended up spiraling into its own beast comprised of roughly 17K words, but I figured more is better after such a long wait. I really had to take my time and go over it though, because so much of it is going to tie in later that I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything out (which I still hope I haven't but we'll see :P) Aside from that I decided to add an inner monologue of Elsa's in the very beginning of chapter 1. It's basically an expansion on whats already there, and well, you'll understand it when you read it. Again that spiraled out of control into about 6K words, but I think its necessary and will really help set the stage for other things I've already talked about. Plus it was fun to really dig into her head, emotions and past. I just need to proof that and I'll be posting it in the next few days before I ****_finally _****get back to our main story *inserts apology again* Thank you to everyone who has sent me PM's with advice, ideas, constructive criticism and concern on whether I've died or not (you all know who you are) :) It was all extremely helpful and I hope you continue to critique- plot holes, grammar, misused words fire away- I'd much rather know and fix it and discuss it with you! Whew. Well with that I give you... ****_A Prologue to Her Reign_****...**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

'_Exiled from his native realm, a king will rise and unite with a common woman. This union shall bear the next gifted child of the north, and her reign will know no bounds.'_

The words rang in the King's ears as he stared down at the child. The familiar message whispered into his thoughts as he gripped the slender, hexagonal crystal that dangled from his neck.

Trying to decipher the meaning of the words had been futile, for the events seemed fairly fantastic and too illogical for his taste. How would a king rise after being ostracized— and why would he marry a commoner if he did regain power? Then there was the last part, which implied that a woman would eventually rule and that was improbable at best. For women rarely held power of such magnitude, and if a royal female was the only one left to rule, she was usually forced to marry and her husband was the one who ultimately reigned.

Aside from those unlikely happenings, the enigmatic part about a gifted child of the north had been extremely inconclusive to even study, let alone try and put logic to. He'd read up on old myths and legends, tirelessly searching for clues, anything that would give him insight to this frustrating prophetic message.

He had come across stories about isolated peoples who once lived up in the extreme northern regions, and could manipulate the wind and ice— however, fables like these resided in children's fairy books, and were widely known to be fabricated fiction used to entertain the young ones.

Though just because it was improbable for a strong female to come to power, didn't mean he was against the idea, especially if her reign brought boundless peace and prosperity with it. Perhaps, just maybe, this child had something to do with all of that.

The crystal suddenly started to glow in his hand, which jarred him out of his thoughts— it had only done that once before, when _he_ had been given the crystal long ago.

Since he had been given the crystal, the message had hummed in a remote corner of his mind, never truly leaving his thoughts as long as he had the crystal with him. He had listened to the words a thousand times over, memorized them, dreamed about them, tirelessly thought about them and now, as he looked at this child, they resonated and tingled through his whole body, stronger than ever before.

Researching and attempting to interpret the message had been as frustrating as a dog chasing its tail: he always ended up back where he started with nothing gained but a headache. For as frustrating as working out the message had been, he knew he had been given this crystal for a reason, of course he wasn't told why, only that it would guide him in the right direction.

He supposed that if he interpreted the message, that would be his guide, but perhaps he was looking at it the wrong way. Perhaps the crystal itself was somehow meant to guide him, not his interpretation of the words.

Just then, those same words began to take on a new meaning in his mind. It was oddly similar to solving those strange optical illusion puzzles. One would look at the image and see what was obvious to them, but when the picture was turned or one was told what to look for, they would begin to see a different picture.

He knew he should call someone to come deal with this abandoned baby, but the words in his head were humming louder with each breath, and the omniscient glowing crystal was hypnotizing, making it very hard to think about anything other than this child.

It was extremely desolate near the edge of the woods, and he couldn't begin to understand why someone would leave a baby out here— or why he had even wandered out here in the first place as he was nearly ready to sail home. The small settlement of people in this remote, northern expanse of mountains, were very humane and amiable and he couldn't see them disregarding a small child either. Yet there he was, a baby boy with rusty red hair, swaddled in blankets, peacefully sleeping in the autumn duff at his feet.

This would be his last visit to this northern settlement for quite some time, as his wife was expecting a child any day now. He was anxious to sail home and check on her, as she kept having chronic miscarriages and he prayed that this one would survive. She was far along in the pregnancy, but that was no great comfort as she had given birth to stillborns in the past and he was growing fearful that she would never be able to carry a child to full term.

It hurt him to watch his wife go through this time and time again, she wanted a child as badly as he did. Each time the pregnancy would fail, he could see her lose a tiny spark of life, and he was certain a part of him died each time as well.

He was lucky that he had been able to wed his true love and best friend, as few royals had arranged marriages that worked out as smoothly. He couldn't imagine having a child with anyone else, but the hands of time were still moving and he was not getting any younger. If this attempt failed, he would most likely have to take another in order to sire an heir and as much as that would pain him, he knew it would ruin his wife. His beautiful queen who he would lay down his life for, and knew she would do the same for him.

However, he could take this child, at least for the time being, and save them both the agony of him bedding another woman.

It was perplexingly strange that he stumbled on this baby at the moment he was fretting over an heir. He wasn't a man to read too much into signs and superstitions, but this coincidence was extremely hard to ignore.

If he did take this child, and his wife successfully delivered, still no harm would be done. He could adopt the child off to a loving family and all would be just as well. The decision was made; he would take the child home, and keep him just for now. He would wait and see what the pregnancy brought and then he would go from there.

* * *

As it so happened, the Queen lost the baby and the King raised the boy as his own. The situation was kept hushed, for the propriety of the Queen, so no one knew the boy wasn't the child that she had actually miscarried.

At first there were whispers from the staff and the general public, for it was odd that two parents with dark hair could have a son with hair so red. Though stranger things had happened and eventually the chatter died down.

The boy grew to be a quite a regal little prince and soon he had captivated the kingdom. He was enchantingly smart from a very young age and very talkative and cheerful. His red hair and hazel eyes matched perfectly together and across the bridge of his nose he had a light dusting of freckles; most of the women of the court suspected he would grow into quite a handsome king.

Though when not in the public eye his mischievous streak would show, turning him into quite the little prankster. He would pull harmless tricks on the staff at the palace in an endeavor to stifle his boredom. He'd put dead bugs in their shoes and soap flakes in the sugar bowls— which was almost his favorite trick to play, because just as people would spoon it into their drink suddenly they would all gasp and become shocked— for instantly, globs of bubbles would come spilling out of their cups and fill the air.

He would run and gleefully chase the bubbles around the room, and everyone would laugh at the precocious little prince.

Among his favorite playmates were two young servants by the names of Kai and Alvin. They were older than him by quite a few years but inside they were just as young. They would join in his games, assisting in his mischief and he loved them like family, for they were the closest things to siblings he had. The staff loved him and he the staff, and life was good for all.

Until one day, quite a few years later, when the Queen became unexpectedly pregnant.

"Father, I still don't understand…"

"You have a new baby brother my little Alexander the Great." The King smiled down at his oldest son and muffled up his red hair.

"I'm still your son though too, right?" Alexander had asked with confusion and concern.

"Of course you are and always will be; now I just have two sons." The King had said gleefully.

The brothers grew older and became rather close indeed. The younger was quite opposite from Alexander though it seemed, in just about everything from demeanor to appearance.

This child was louder and less refined, he had dark brown hair with a tinge of red and his eyes were a brown so dark they seemed black. The youngest idolized the older and tried to be just like him, but as the years went by and both boys grew older, it could be seen that Alexander was the more competent of the two.

"Alex, how did you do that?" Prince Vladimir exclaimed in a fit of irritation as he threw his bow to the ground. Alexander had hit the target three times in a row on the hardest archery range! He seemed to be good at everything, or at least better then Vlad was.

"Stop thinking about it so much Vlad, just let it happen."

"I'm afraid your brother is right sir, it just takes practice. Even he was quite atrocious when he first started." Kai said. Alex rolled his eyes a him.

Vlad doubted that. Alex was never atrocious, at anything. He loved his older brother, but it became harder and harder to suppress his growing jealously.

Alex was also smart and good-looking and one day he would be king. Vlad was decent looking and good with abstracts— he was always able to discern the most effective solution that would profit himself most, but he was awful at his studies.

Alex had always been different, his smarts were renowned— he could do logic and strategy and abstracts and anything he wanted and that just wasn't fair.

All the girls always fawned over him and it drove Vlad crazy. Not that he didn't have girls flock to him, being a prince as well, but they were never the kind of girls that would do anything for Alex— those girls were beautiful.

It was the way Alex handled it though, that drove him completely mad. He never would kiss them or court them at all; he would politely talk with them and never anything more. It made no sense to him, as these girls were not ugly, and when he finally asked him the answer was even stranger.

"Vlad, you don't court a girl simply because she's pretty. I want her to be smart and caring and beautiful as well, but looks aren't everything. Don't you want to fall in love someday?"

Vlad had pondered this for a brief moment. He wasn't sure if he wanted love or not, he just wanted to be better than Alex and that meant getting prettier girls than him.

"Nah, not me, but if I ever do get married she just better be beautiful."

Alex had rolled his eyes, as he so often did at Vlad, and this irritated the heck out of him.

"Where are you going?" Vlad said as he rushed to catch up to his brother.

"I still need to get ready. The wedding, remember?"

The wedding. Prince Thomas. He had forgotten. Vlad had always secretly disliked the man, it seemed like every time he came around Alex would forget that he existed. Thomas was older than Alex by a couple of years and they would always do things together, it was as if Thomas suddenly became Alex's new and improved brother and it ate at his insides. They never actually left him out; it was just so difficult to keep up with them.

"Oh right, I forgot about that. He's getting married to what's-her-name." Vlad said dejectedly.

"Primrose. You could come too you know, you don't have to be in the ceremony to attend." Alex said and put a hand on Vlad's shoulder.

A sour taste came to his mouth at the thought. He had absolutely no desire to take the long trip south to Corona and attend the wedding of the _great_ Prince Thomas.

"How could I forget, with the whole uproar he's caused by marrying a commoner with no money." Vlad said bitterly.

Alex rolled his eyes at him once again. "He loves her, Vlad. I don't see the problem." He said with a long sigh.

Vlad hated when he would talk down to him like that, like his opinions were so stupid he had to be regarded as a petulant child.

"Well I just don't think it's right, that's all." It was the only thing he could think of to retort.

Alex turned and looked directly at him. "Who's to say what's right? Titles and status are foolish if you ask me. All they accomplish is forcing marriage between two people who aren't in love, and creating a more pronounced imbalance between the rich and the poor. Everyone is human and deserves an equal chance, its not right."

He could feel that familiar rage bubbling under the surface that he felt every time Alex started preaching his sophisticated nonsense like this. He was the one who didn't understand— titles are what made people better then others. They were a birthright and those who weren't lucky enough to be born with a title, well that was just too bad for them. Without titles he wouldn't be a prince, and if he weren't a prince he would have nothing, no girls no wealth or power— nothing. He would be nobody— a _commoner_ like everyone else, and why would he want that? He knew what that was like because he felt like a nobody whenever Thomas and Alex got together, and he _hated_ it.

"Well have a good time at the wedding with your _precious_ Prince Thomas." Vlad spat as he turned on his heel and marched off. He glanced back and could see the hurt flash in Alex's eyes like he had just slapped him, but he didn't care. Did he even know how much it hurt him every time he would go romping off with Thomas? Let him go to his perfect little wedding, he didn't care.

* * *

Corona was truly a beautiful land, very warm and sunny and full of hope, Alex mused, as he walked down off his ship onto the cobblestone dock. It was the first time he had been allowed to sail on his own and the excitement of his newfound freedom was intoxicating. He had always been disappointed that Thomas always came to visit Weselton and he never got to come to Corona, but finally he was the visitor, and he couldn't wait to explore.

If he wasn't in line for the crown, perhaps he would have become an explorer— then he could sail to all sorts of exotic lands anytime he pleased.

Corona was, in a sense, a tall island with a magnificent palace that sat at the top. It was so different from Weselton, the land he had grown up in. Weselton was huge and largely spread out and the palace was grand there too, but something about this small cobblestone kingdom surrounded by the sea, was beautiful and magical to him.

"Alex?" He heard a disembodied voice call out from the bustle of people.

He scanned the crowd and, towering over everyone else, he spotted the dark brown hair and hulking form of his best friend.

"Thomas!" Alex called out and ran over and the men embraced. Right now they weren't royalty, just two very good, close friends.

"I expect your first trip went excellently." Thomas said with a slap on the back. "Or did you sink the ship with those antics of yours?" He said in jest, comically looking over Alex's shoulder to check if he could see a ship.

"Everything in order, sir." Alex said joking back as he saluted.

"Well come on then boy, what are you waiting for? After tomorrow I'm an old married man, let me show you what Corona is all about!" He said as he slapped Alex on the back again.

Alex could feel the tingle of excitement in the pit of his stomach that he always felt with new things, and eagerly followed Thomas into the town. It was just like old times, as Thomas showed him around— he always knew exactly, what the most exciting things were to see and do.

The town was abuzz with jubilant talk of the coming royal wedding. Most importantly it seemed, was the topic of what the brides elegant gown was going to look like— from what he could decipher anyway. It seemed like these people were speaking a different language: Florentine, décolleté, flounce, a-line, sheath... half these words he never even knew existed, and decided it was probably better to keep things that way. But their happiness was infectious nonetheless.

Everyone was milling about, running here and there— it seemed like every person had a hand in the wedding preparations. He hoped one day that his subjects would be as happy and intimate as this, like a large close family, one kingdom united for a joyous event.

Thomas happily introduced him to ale for the first time, which was probably a large mistake, but it sure made the festivities a whole lot more fun— and talking to women much less daunting. Though the loss of coordination brought with the ale was certainly not helpful, and Thomas seemed to find flagrant humor in this.

After many drinks and participating in all sorts of exotic activities, they finally returned to the palace. Alex tried to clear his head but everything seemed so foggy and funny that he gave up trying.

As they walked up the stairs to the palace it suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea to try and wrestle Thomas. He had always been bigger and bulkier than Alex, but he was confident now was the time he would finally be able to take him down. So he snuck up behind him, grabbed him in a headlock and tried to bring him to the ground.

He thought he was winning for a moment, but then realized the force of the headlock had caused a drunken Thomas to slip, and both men went stumbling through the doors of the grand entryway, falling, rolling and eventually sprawling out on the granite floor. Nearly all the staff that were making preparations inside stopped awkwardly and turned, unsure of how to react at the spectacle.

Thomas got up with a stagger and managed to slur out, "I apologize, youmayall go back to your business now thank you."

Alex stood up as well, abruptly realizing how ridiculous they must look. That's when he saw her, a beautiful woman with long dark hair that was braided to one side of her neck and two sky blue eyes. She had on a simple blue dress a shade darker than her eyes; it covered her arms, but exposed her neckline and had white puffy shoulders. He stared at her for the longest time as she and another woman approached them, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't take his eyes away from hers.

"There she is! My beautiful bride!" Thomas said as he walked over to the lady standing next to the enchanting woman he was fixated on.

In a trancelike state he followed Thomas, still staring at this captivating woman. Somewhere a voice was telling him how inappropriate it was to be staring, but at this moment he didn't particularly care and shoved the voice aside.

"Ladies, this is my good friend, crown Princess Alexander of Weselton. Er, Prince, Prince Alexander." Thomas said correcting his slur and slapping Alex on the back.

Alex smiled, not because of the slip, but because it caused the woman to smile and he didn't think he had ever seen anything so wonderful in his life.

"Alex, this is my betrothed, soon to be Princess Primrose of Corona and the love of my life." Thomas said as he kissed her hand. She smiled and Alex bowed his head. Looking at her for the first time he could see the striking resemblance to the other woman, though she looked slightly more mature and had very different green eyes. Her long brown hair was also a shade lighter then the other woman's, and was pulled back halfway.

"And this is her lovely sister, Lady Rendella." Thomas said gesturing to the slight woman next to Primrose. Rendella. Rendella. Her name sounded like music in his head.

He didn't know if it was the ale's doing, because usually he was not so bold with girls, but something about this woman made him feel like he could do anything. So he gently grabbed her hand and brought it up and kissed it, like Thomas had done. "My lady it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." There was something in her eyes, a spark of life and intelligence that he had never before seen in a woman and it enamored him.

"Your Grace." She said timidly and curtsied.

He hated these titles and never would understand them, for why should a woman like this be curtseying to him? If he had it his way, and he hoped he would, she would never be bowing to him again.

Just then Thomas swayed and the soon to be princess' eyes widened. "Why don't we get you to bed, tomorrows the big day after all." Primrose said with a hint of amusement. She took him by the arm and Alex watched them walk away, though she glanced back over her shoulder for a minute, for what reason he had no idea.

Alex cleared his throat; he had never been very good with girls. There were many interested in him it was true, but he was always very poor at small talk with them. He would start rambling and his mouth would start saying things before his brain had time to edit them properly and words would come out a tad jumbled. Fortunately for him she started the conversation.

"So how was your trip from Weselton?" She asked in a quiet voice. He tried to remember how the trip had been but his head was really growing foggy. He wished she'd keep talking though, her voice sounded as smooth as silk felt and he just wanted to keep listening.

"Um, I'd say it went good— went well I mean. It was my first trip on my own and I didn't sink." He said awkwardly. He really was bad at this.

She chuckled and smiled a half smile that immediately put him at ease.

"May I run you to your room? Walk, walk you I mean?" He asked, attempting to sound composed and salvage himself. Something about this woman seemed to turn him into a bumbling idiot— or maybe it was the ale, or a combination of the two?

"I think I would like that." She responded with a smile and took his arm.

He made sure to walk slowly so he wouldn't trip, in his state the hallways looked uneven, and he had no idea where he was actually going. Fortunately she seemed to.

"May you save me, er, may I save you… will you dance with me after the ceremony tomorrow?" He finally managed to get out as they reached the door.

"Of course, I would love to." She said sincerely, smiling.

He stood there for a moment, just blissfully staring at her. He must have looked ridiculous but he didn't particularly care, she was so nice to look at. "You're absolutely gorgeous." He finally let slip and realized quickly how inappropriate he must sound. Fortunately for him she seemed immune to his maladroit. "I mean, I'm sorry that was incredibly forward of me. You are, it's not that, I just mean— I apologize." He said trying to recover, as his cheeks grew hot and probably beat red. It had always been a curse of his.

All she did was smile, which made things worse for him.

"Well, goodnight. I look forward to your dance tomorrow— our dance I mean." He said as he slowly backed up.

"This is your room."

His face must have looked puzzled because a small smirk curved over her thin lips and she continued before he could respond.

"You seemed somewhat lost, and a little… Well, this is your room. I'm right down the hall so it was no trouble." She finished with a half smile.

"Oh. Thank you." He said feeling embarrassed. He could feel the blood rushing into his cheeks again. He was quite sure he wasn't spinning, but the hallway suddenly was.

"Are you alright?" She asked in alarm, her eyes suddenly growing wide.

He was pretty sure the hallway shouldn't be rotating like it was, or maybe he was? He couldn't be sure but he needed to compose himself, or he'd never get another chance with her.

He felt something light grab his arm and then suddenly he was in the large room, which was still whirling like the hallway was unfortunately. Then he was on the bed, not sure how he'd moved over there, and laying down made the pirouetting room move faster, so he was forced to close his eyes.

He didn't want to shut them though, he needed to know if she was still there, so he tested one eye and then opened the other and could see two concerned looking blue eyes gazing back at him. He tried to keep his eyes open, it seemed like he could get lost in the sky if he just stared at her eyes long enough, but black was creeping in at the corner of his eyes and finally it took him over.

"Wake up princess! It's time for a wedding!" Thomas roared as he burst into Alex's room.

The sound of his voice pierced through Alex's head and left a ringing noise in its wake.

"So I hear you are quite enamored with my soon to be wife's sister, eh?"

What was he talking about? He couldn't form a coherent thought today, let alone remember last night. Then it hit him, all at once— her long dark hair and pretty blue eyes and he felt butterflies in his stomach followed shortly by remorse. He had acted a fool in front of her from what he could remember.

"How are you awake and this chipper?" Alex mumbled.

"Answer the question, no deflecting." Thomas said as he threw open the drapes, causing Alex to swiftly pull the covers over his head.

"How could you possibly already know about that?" He mumbled from under the blanket.

"Word travels fast around here, you have obviously never lived with two women before have you? Two sisters I might add." Thomas said dryly.

He supposed Thomas was right, unless his mother or the ladies on staff counted, and he knew quite well how chatty they all could be— they always seemed to know everything instantly. He could never figure out how they all seemed privy to some collective vat of information and gossip that he could never keep up with. He cringed, if Thomas already knew, the whole palace must know by now about his ridiculous behavior the night before.

"I made an idiot of myself in front of her, I'll be lucky if she ever looks at me again." Alex said shamefully.

Thomas walked over and ripped the blanket off him. Alex groaned and curled up into a ball, putting the pillow over his head as he tried to shield his eyes from the accursed light.

"That's what wedding receptions are for, killer." Thomas said as he bunched the blanket up and tossed it back on the bed. "Now get a move on, I can't get married without my best man!" He called as he walked out of the room slamming the door behind him.

He was such a subtle man, Alex thought dryly. But the mention of the reception did trigger another memory that sent a happy nervous flurry into his stomach. She _had_ agreed to dance with him; perhaps it was not yet too late to win her over. With that as his motivation, he got up to greet the suddenly beautiful day.

* * *

"You look beautiful." Rendella said as she gazed at her sister in awe. She had on the loveliest white gown, and looked every inch the princess she was about to become.

"Thank you Ella." Primrose said and pulled her sister into a hug. "Now why do you look so different this morning?" She said with a knowing smirk. "Could it have anything to do with our dear Prince Alexander?"

Rendella could feel her face grow hot. Her sister always seemed to know exactly what was going on in her head— and heart apparently.

"Out with it Ella you know I can always tell."

"He just walked me back to my room last night, it wasn't a big ordeal— or rather, I walked him…" She said with a smirk. "Then he asked me to dance with him at the reception today."

Primrose let out a squeal that was very out of place with the regal dress she had on. "I knew it!" She laughed. "_So_?"

"So what?"

"_So_… do you like him?" She said it like it was the most obvious question in the world.

"Well, yes I suppose so, though I don't really know if he'll even remember that he was with me last night." She said as she started adding pins to her sister's hair. He had been very cute though, she mused. Even his awkward words had been heartfelt and endearing.

"Thomas was out of sorts last night too." Primrose chuckled, than turned to face her. "Ella listen, I love you very much, and I just want you to be happy and cared for you know that. But you really need to open up and give a little bit more to the men who are courting you, give Alex a chance tonight."

She didn't think she hadn't been open with men; it's just that so few of them could hold her attention for very long. Most of them were pompous or rude and incredibly self-centered and she never really felt like she could be herself around them. Whenever she would try to interject about an interesting book or anything having to do with her own opinion, they would talk over her. She didn't even care to marry a wealthy or titled man; just one that could carry on an interesting conversation that wasn't all about himself or his assets.

Since her sister had gotten engaged, those types of men had suddenly flocked to her, presumably in an attempt to raise their own status by affiliation— and she could always see right through them. However, Alex had seemed different, even in his inebriated state, and she was actually quite excited about seeing him again tonight.

"I will, I promise."

* * *

Alex stood at the front of the church just to the right of Thomas, waiting nervously for the music to start and the ladies to come down the aisle. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous, the ceremony would be easy enough— he wouldn't have to talk to her. If he didn't have to talk he didn't have to worry about the garble of gibberish that might spill out of his mouth. Though he did get to see her, and that was probably the source of most of his excited nerves.

"Why do you look more nervous than I feel?" Thomas whispered out of the corner of his mouth towards Alex.

"What? I'm not, its fine just— shhh." He said as the choir began to sing. He quickly realized he had been nervously jiggling his knee and he quickly suppressed it.

The large oak doors slowly opened in the back of the church, and there she was. He was sure his heart had leapt up into his throat because that's where he could feel it beating now.

She had on a plum colored dress that accented her slight frame perfectly. It plumed out just below her waist into a lighter shade of purple, with a yellow floral pattern vining its way around the lower portion. Her arms and shoulders were exposed, save for two off the shoulder straps that draped down her upper arms. She was probably wearing some exotic style that the ladies in town were chattering on about, but even those fancy words seemed inadequate to describe how beautiful she looked.

She carried a bouquet of purple and yellow crocus flowers that cascaded down like a floral waterfall, and her single braid was swept up into an elaborate style on the top of her head with tiny flowers tucked in it. It was the most breathtaking sight he had ever seen in his life.

But it was also how she was walking down the aisle that threatened to throttle him. He knew she and her sister were from a very common family, but if he didn't know any better he'd say she was a queen. She walked with her head held high and astute. Her shoulders back with perfect posture and a calm and steady gait. Titles, he thought, were for the birds— for this common woman looked more regal than any queen he had ever seen in his life.

He also noticed a slight timidity to her demeanor as she approached closer, something you would only catch if you were looking for it. Her eyes were shifty and it was almost as if she was extremely uncomfortable with all these eyes on her. How strange, he thought, since most women usually enjoyed when attention was all on them.

There seemed to be a strength in her too, as if she were determined to suppress her fear and carry on as regally as ever. He had no idea how so many different things could exist in one woman, but he knew one thing—it was fascinating.

When she was close enough he saw her eyes flick over to him. He thought his heart might just jump out of his throat, but he quickly recovered and gave her a quick warm smile. He just wanted to reassure her if he possibly could, and save her from all the eyes that seemed to be causing her disquiet. Her eyes returned forward but a small smile spread across her lips. He realized he had been jiggling his knee again and he once again stifled the accursed nervous habit.

When she reached her place to the left of where Primrose would stand she finally glanced back over at him. He smiled again in a reassuring way and this time she smiled a half smile directly back at him. Those half smiles of hers were astoundingly ruinous to his composure, because he nearly dropped the ring he was holding and jerked awkwardly to quickly keep it from falling to the floor. Thankfully Primrose had already started down the aisle and no one seemed to notice his slip.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, vows were said, promises made and all the while he couldn't stop himself from glancing over at her. She must have finally caught on because one time he caught her smirking at nothing in particular and her eyes glanced back at him as well.

After all was said and done and the newlyweds took their leave, he offered his arm and she lightly took it so he could escort her out of the church.

Outside there was a bustle of people who had stopped up Thomas and Primrose on their way out. As he emerged from the church with Rendella, a sea of enthusiastic people started to descend upon them as well. He felt her stiffen beside him, so he put his arm protectively around her shoulders and prodded and shouldered his way through the swarm of people.

He looked up over the gaggle of bobbing heads and saw Thomas gesturing to a pair of carriages partway down the street. Thomas' other hand, he noticed, was shielding Primrose in much the same way he was shielding Rendella. He scanned the crowd for some type of a path, but saw there wasn't one; they would have to make their way through the absurd mass of over zealous subjects.

"The carriages are that way, we have to make our way through these people, will you be alright?" He said closely to her ear and she nodded. He could feel her trembling slightly.

Luckily for them, people seemed more interested in getting a glimpse of the royal couple than of them. They just had to fight their way up a stream of densely packed people. He held her close and used his free hand to keep people away and shield her from their frantic movements. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they made it to their carriage.

The guards opened the door and he escorted her in first and then quickly climbed in himself.

Once inside he could finally see the abject terror written on her face. She was trying to control it but he could see it all over her eyes, so he took both of her small hands in his. It was fairly warm out, but her hands were freezing. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern.

Her breathing started to slow down. "Yes, I'll be fine. Certain situations just make me uneasy." She said in a surprisingly calm voice.

Uneasy was probably an understatement for what she seemed to be experiencing. His face must still have still looked worried because she continued. "Really, I'm fine. I just get a little startled when I feel trapped or confined." She said with a smile, seeming more relaxed.

He squeezed her hands. "Someone like you should never be caged in like a bird anyway." He said with a smile. "You deserve freedom and so much more."

Finally back at the palace he escorted her up to the ballroom where the reception was starting to bustle— or rather, she escorted him. He still had no idea where he was going in this place.

Thomas and Primrose eventually arrived and then all four of them were announced, signaling the official start of the reception.

The newly wedded couple had just taken the floor for their first dance, when over Primroses' shoulder Thomas discreetly gestured towards Rendella. Momentarily embarrassed by this, Alex knew what he meant. He wanted them to join on the dance floor.

* * *

Her sister looked stunningly beautiful in the arms of Thomas, twirling around on the dance floor like a couple that were ice-skating and not just dancing. She couldn't have been happier for her, and knew someday she would make a great queen.

She noticed Thomas make an odd gesture at her, and she wasn't entirely sure what he wanted. He was something like an older brother to her and he was always poking fun, so she assumed it was some joke of his that she had missed the punch line to.

Suddenly, Alex turned to her with his hand outstretched and softly asked, "Remember you said you'd dance with me?"

She gave him her hand and smiled up at him. "I didn't think _you_ would remember." She said in jest.

He smirked and then took her in his arms and twirled her out on the dance floor and for a few brief minutes before others joined in, they were the only ones out there except for the bride and groom. She had been right in her assumption that dancing was like ice-skating, for that's what it felt like now. She smiled and laughed as she never had before and the freedom she felt was liberating.

After dancing for what must have been hours, but felt only like minutes, Alex took her by the hands and led her out onto the balcony that overlooked the sea.

The night summertime air was cool and refreshing and the view of the kingdom was absolutely spectacular, the lights on the water looked like fireflies dancing in a sea of darkness. The crickets all around sounded like music to her ears and the starry sky was crystal clear. She couldn't remember ever feeling this happy and never wanted to let it go.

"Rendella, what are you thinking about?"

"Please, just Ella." She said with a smile. "I was just thinking that I've never felt this free and happy in my entire life."

He turned to her and took her hands in his. "I could tell, it shows in your eyes when you're happy and when you're afraid. Ella, I wish you could be free and happy for the rest of your life to walk or run or fly and do as you please. I only wish I could come along for the ride."

She couldn't help but smile. That was quite possibly the most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to her and the one thing she had longed to hear for so long. He didn't care that she had been raised in a common family nor did he see her as some way to attain status through her sister— he loved that she was just she.

These feelings were new, and really quite strange, the tingling in her whole body. She wasn't sure what it was, but she didn't care because she knew it meant something good. She'd want him there, needed him in her life— he needed to know that and so she said, "There is no ride if you're not with me."

The next thing to happen surprised her the most, but then this had been a night full of new things. He leaned down and kissed her and that was when the entire world stopped. It stopped and all she was aware of was his warm gentle touch, and oddly the smell of flowers from the surrounding garden. When they broke apart she knew he was it, the one she would always love, and there was never more a doubt in her mind.

So after the wedding and some time had passed, she packed her things and prepared to leave with Alex.

"I want you to have this." Primrose said as she produced a leather journal. The cover was embossed with a large sun, and from the suns rays sprouted flowering vines that crawled over the entire journal. "Write down everything and that way you'll always have a piece of Corona that you can share with your children someday."

Rendella could feel the hot tears burning her eyes. "It's beautiful… but… what if I can't do this? What if I need you?" Her face felt hot and she suddenly wasn't so sure she could leave her sister.

"Take this too." Primrose said as she removed a necklace. The necklace was half the crest of Corona, a golden sun encased in a circle. She placed it around Rendella's neck and then pulled out the other half that was around her own neck. Rendella took her half and matched it to the half in her sister's hand; the pieces fit together creating a whole golden sun.

"When you feel the sun shining on you, know that I will feel the same warmth from the same sun and will be with you. No distance can ever keep us from being sisters, just like no distance can ever stop the suns rays from shining on us both." Primrose said with tears in her eyes. "You love Alex, I know you do. You have to go Ellie."

She hadn't called her by that name since they were children and it felt like a knife going right through her heart. She threw her arms around her sister and they both stood there crying and holding each other.

Rendella promised to write and that she would see her again soon at a wedding of her own. Alex and Thomas had also reassured them that they would make sure they visited each other as often as possible.

Alex then reached down and plucked a yellow crocus flower, placing it in her hair. He said that no matter where they went, Corona would always be in her heart and his. So they got on the ship and waved a bittersweet goodbye. She would miss her sister dearly, but knew she loved Alex and could feel she was doing the right thing.

She spent the journey home writing in her new journal, she wrote down everything— every thought, feeling and event that had happened to her since she had met Alex. When she had written down everything she could think of, the journey to Weselton was nearly complete.

When they got off the ship it was somewhat overwhelming. Weselton was enormous compared to Corona. Instead of a small town there were large buildings spread out all over the city, and when they arrived at the palace it was much larger then the one she knew from Corona. It was grand to be sure, but secretly she missed the homey feel of the palace back home to the large emptiness of this one.

"Welcome back your Highness!" A portly man with reddish hair greeted them as they entered the palace.

"Kai, it's great to see you old friend." Alex said to the man as he shook hands and embraced with him. "May I introduce the love of my life and bride to be, Lady Rendella."

She could already feel her face getting hot as the man's eyes widened. "My lady, it is a pleasure, may I extend my deepest congratulations!" Kai said, clearly ecstatic over the news.

Immediately she liked him, he seemed genuine and jolly like an old friend would be. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She said with a curtsey.

Alex and Kai exchanged glances with a smirk. She scrunched up her eyebrows, unsure of what private joke she had just missed, and briefly looked to Alex, but it was Kai who spoke instead.

"My lady, you are the queen to be— there is no need to curtsey to a someone like myself."

This threw her for a minute. She knew Alex was a prince and by default she would become a princess when she married, like her sister had, but the thought of one day being a queen was suddenly extremely daunting and mildly alarming. It was always a nice thought to think of Primrose as a queen, but she never really imagined the same situation of herself.

"My love, it's true, you needn't bow before anyone, including myself. You are my equal, my partner and friend." Alex's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she nodded somewhat embarrassedly.

"However if you should like to curtsey to Kai do not let me be the one to stop you, as I think titles are quite pointless indeed." He then dramatically got to one knee and bowed his head to Kai.

"Do get up sir, or I shall have to tell your father on you." Kai said with a hint of amusement as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm grown now Kai, you can't play that card anymore." Alex said with a wink.

"You do not wish to test that sir." Kai said sternly.

She had never before met a man as amusingly humble as Kai and it was the most refreshing thing to be around someone like him.

"Speaking of my father, where is he? I want to introduce Rendella."

"This way." Kai said as he led them into the palace.

"You know, I had the most curious incident occur just after Prince Alexander departed for Corona. I awoke to the disturbing discovery that all my pairs of shoes were mysteriously each missing a partner." Kai said to Rendella. "It was certainly a conundrum, as I had to walk around for days with mismatched footgear until I successfully located the misappropriated shoes." Kai said as he glared at Alex.

Alex glanced at her and made a guilty looking face.

"Now I said to myself, I just know this couldn't be the doings of our noble Prince Alexander, as he is far too old to be playing such childish pranks."

She couldn't help but smile at the entertaining look on Alex's face; it was something between embarrassment and amusement.

"Here we are." Kai said as he opened the door to a large study. "I am still missing three." He said under his breath.

Alex shrugged innocently and led her into the room.

As soon as they walked into the room she could tell they had interrupted something uncomfortable, the three people in the room abruptly cut off talking and stared at them.

"What's going on in here?" Alex asked in a confused voice, breaking the harsh silence.

"Nothing son. It's great to have you back." The King said as he and the Queen walked over to embrace Alex.

"Yes, actually. Something is _going on_." Came the bitter voice of the other person who was in the room. Rendella looked and could see a darker haired man standing off to the side. He looked to be a little younger than Alex and she assumed it must be his brother Vladimir that he had spoken about.

"Vlad, what is going on here?" Alex asked, clearly alarmed by the outburst.

This time it was the King who interrupted. "Nothing is going on, who is this lovely young lady?" He said turning to face her.

Alex still seemed bewildered at the way his family was acting, but he covered it quickly. "This is Rendella. She's to be my bride." Alex said with a tone of pride.

"My dear! Congratulations!" The queen spoke as she hugged her.

"Congratulations my dear." The King said as he bent down and kissed her cheek. "You two met at the wedding then I suppose." The King asked with a proud and knowing smile.

"Yes, Princess Primrose is my sister." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she could see all three of their faces drop. She suddenly wished could retract the repellant words.

"You brought back a commoner?" Vlad asked incredulously as he pointed a finger at her.

"You will watch your mouth little brother." Alex quickly spat with a tone of menace she had never before heard come out of him.

She was all at once very uncomfortable in this room with them all staring at her like she was some kind of diseased animal that must be quickly eradicated. Alex must have sensed it too because he immediately started escorting her out. "You don't need to stand here and listen to this." He said as he ushered her out of the room.

Her face must have shown her embarrassment because Alex's face quickly softened. "Let me just speak with them for a minute alone. Kai will you please show her around and get her settled in?"

"Of course."

"I'll find you when I'm through." He said as he quickly kissed her cheek and turned to go back into the room.

She stood there momentarily bewildered trying to process what had just transpired.

"This way my lady." Kai gestured for her to follow.

She followed him mutely. How had she been so stupid? Primrose had gone through something similar, although not as directly as what had just happened to her. Thomas never really much cared what anyone thought of anything he did, and had made it clear that her lack of social status mattered not and was not a subject of open discussion. Most of his subjects had obeyed, as Corona was fairly tight-knit and they all adored the royal family, especially once they got to know her sister more as a person, it had all been but forgotten.

There had still been the occasional outsider who would come in leering at Primrose, as if they knew something she didn't, but it was quickly made clear that that was inappropriate behavior and it was dropped. She had always hated those people though, and wished they would go back to wherever it was they came from if they frowned upon it so.

Though it had taken the King and Queen of Corona some time to accept that Thomas was not marrying another nation or even into wealth, but Thomas was extremely staunch in his beliefs and as their only son, they had no choice but to accept his decision. They actually ended up being very nice people and really came to like Primrose and herself, once they moved past the issue of social status. Perhaps Alex's family just needed to get to know her better as well. She could make them see that she was a good person, worthy of marrying Alex, if they just gave her half a chance.

Frankly, she never understood what the uproar was really even about. Of course she and her sister had relatively no wealth, but Corona was very well off and judging by the size of the palace alone, so was Weselton. Why were royals so obsessed with amassing even more riches than they could ever possibly begin to spend in one lifetime?

Royals marrying other nations royals were sometimes arranged for alliances and political purposes, she knew that, but why did these people need to use marriage as a tool for that? Couldn't they work out their own political problems like adults and not throw that pressure onto their children?

Half the time she felt like royals only reproduced so they could advance their kingdom by creating another chess piece in their twisted game of power. Pawns, that's all royal children were to them, a piece that can be used and sacrificed for a 'greater' purpose at the expense of the child's happiness. She would never understand that way of thinking and was glad Alex and Thomas had rebelled against that tradition, if unknowingly. She would never, ever allow her child to become a pawn.

"In here, is the royal library." Kai said as he opened two large wood doors.

She hadn't been paying attention to his tour, but the mention of a library had peaked her interest. The library at the palace in Corona was huge and one of her favorite places to get lost in.

The first time her sister had taken her in there she almost fainted, never before had she seen so many books in one place. This library was just as vast and grand as the one in Corona and if anything, it was even larger. She couldn't shake the growing feeling of excitement at the prospect of so many new books to delve into.

"May I stay in here? I'd like to browse the shelves."

"Ah, I sense a bibliophile." Kai said with a wink. " '_Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.' _"

She smiled at the familiar quote.

"John Locke, one of the most forward thinking idealists I have ever had the pleasure of reading about."

"An intelligent woman too, I suspect you will make an outstanding future queen. I shall let Prince Alexander know where you are."

"Thank you." She smiled at Kai as he turned to leave. His words were a small comfort; at least he had faith in her, even if the rest of the kingdom might not.

She marveled at all the different levels in this library; it always felt like she was entering another world when she would set foot in these colossal places of information. The amount of knowledge and imagination that was just lying around her, waiting to be discovered was mind-boggling. It was also always unsettling to think of how much of this knowledge would probably end up unused and lost with the passage of time.

As she walked further into the depths of the main area, a large leather bound book sitting on a desk caught her attention. She walked over to see what this person had been reading, she had found some great books in the past by stealing looks at what others had been delving into.

She found that this book had strange writing on the front that she couldn't read, so she opened it and curiously paged through, discovering that the whole book was written in that same odd dialect. She could make out some of the words, but it was as if parts of an older language were thrown in with the phrases she did understand, creating what appeared to be a very confusing sublanguage.

She continued to page through it, interested by the hand drawn sketches of mountainous geography, forests, different types of foliage, strange maps and diagrams and there was even an interesting section with strange creatures she had never seen before. The small creatures were holding odd shaped crystals and looking up towards the lights in the night sky. She decided it must be a fictional book of some sort and closed it, disappointed that she couldn't understand it.

When she closed it a small piece of parchment paper flew out of it and landed on the floor at her feet. She picked it up and turned it over, written on it was a small excerpt, presumably from or about the book. It was translated so she was able to read it— someone else was obviously frustrated by the odd language as well.

'_Exiled from his native realm, a King will rise and unite with a common woman. This union shall bear the next gifted child of the north, and her reign will know no bounds.'_

A king uniting with a common woman, how appropriate— a fairy tale attuned with her current predicament. How predictable that the king is cast out, most likely because he chooses to defy the royal chess system, she thought bitterly. Though even if the couple didn't get a perfect life, it seemed as if their child would do well for herself at least, and that was uplifting.

It was nice that a story seemed to have a strong female protagonist for once— she always hoped she would have a daughter some day— and quite frankly she tired of reading the same old fables that always depicted men as conquering heroes or the ones who had to swoop in and save the day. If that passage was any indication of what the book was about, she was even more disappointed that she couldn't read it.

She realized that she was still holding the journal Prim had given her, and decided to jot down the small excerpt. It was rather pretty, almost like a small poem and she wanted to remember it and the hope it gave her. Perhaps she could find a translator, or learn the odd dialect and eventually read the book herself— the child in her wanted to know what kinds of special gifts the daughter had and if the couple would get their happy ending.

She decided that the passage was a perfect segue into a new journal entry, so she slid the large book aside and started to write.

* * *

Alex closed the door to the study behind him. "You will never speak to her like that again do you understand me?" He said authoritatively directly to Vlad. "Any of you for that matter." He finished, looking up at his parents.

"I am still your King and you will not speak to me like that." The King said menacingly, then softened slightly. "Unfortunately, there are other pressing matters we need to discuss right now." Alex noticed how jittery his father seemed. He was usually calm and collected and it was disconcerting to see him so unhinged.

"I don't see what could be more important then convincing you to accept the woman I love." Alex said defiantly. "Title or no title she is going to be the queen one day, that is, unless you plan to usurp me— and let me make myself perfectly clear, if you do not respect her as my bride and as the future queen, I will abdicate." He didn't know where these words were coming from, he had never spoken to his family like this in his life, but their reaction to her status had felt like blunt betrayal. He knew they wanted him to marry a well off woman, but he hoped that when they saw her, saw how much he loved her, that they would relent— apparently not.

"Just calm down a minute son, no one is usurping you or abdicating." His father was nervously fondling the crystal he had always worn around his neck— a habit Alex recognized that always pervaded when his father didn't want to disclose something.

"Why exactly is that father? In light of recent news that you failed to share with the both of us, I think it's perfectly valid for him to abdicate if he so chooses." Vlad spat harshly.

The room was silent. Vlad's odd words took his mind off of the Rendella scenario for a moment.

"What is he talking about? What's the matter with all of you?" Alex asked critically. Something more was going on here then just their displeasure over Rendella, he could see it in their faces.

"I think you should be the one to tell him father, tell both of us really, since I had to uncover this clandestine information on my own." Vlad said with a pompous undertone that irritated Alex.

For the first time in his life Alex could see fear, or was it anxiety, in his fathers eyes and it made him uneasy. Whatever this was it was bad. "You're all making me nervous, is something wrong? What is it? Just say it." Alex said, his alarm rising.

The King glanced around as if looking for some sort of escape, when he realized there was none he took a deep breath and looked directly at Alex. "Vladimir is the true heir." He said in a dejected, almost imperceptibly disappointed tone.

The room grew silent again.

"I don't understand... What?" Alex finally asked, breaking the deafening silence.

"Listen to me Alex, you are and have always been my son. Nothing has changed, nothing is going to change that." The King said as he walked over and put his hands on Alex's shoulders.

The alarm inside of Alex was growing and he could feel his ears beginning to pulse. "What are you talking about?" He asked quietly, not sure if he really wanted to hear this or not.

"You are my son in every way that matters. Every way… except by blood." The King said sounding defeated.

Alex didn't understand so he stayed silent, though he wasn't sure he could speak if he wanted to, his throat felt constricted.

The King bit his lip unsure of how to proceed. "I found you, as a baby. This was when we thought your mother wouldn't be able to carry a child. I found you, this little blessing in our time of need and I took you in and fell in love with you." He said, his eyes beginning to water. "I raised you as my own and have only ever wanted the best for you, for both of you." He added as he glanced at Vlad.

Alex wanted to run away. He didn't want to hear this, or see his father beginning to cry. He just wanted to get away, away from the sadness and betrayal that was suddenly ripping his heart apart. He wished he were with Rendella now and not here in this room as his whole world was collapsing around him.

"As I said, nothing has changed. You may not be an heir by blood, but you are still the rightful heir, at least as far as I am concerned. You will still be our next king." He said as he put his hand on Alex's neck and squeezed.

Alex didn't give a damn who the next king was going to be, all he could think about was that his family, that he had loved and _trusted_ his entire life, were not really his family. They had blatantly lied to him for years— he was practically an orphan… His brain was doing flip-flops— this didn't seem like reality. Maybe he was dreaming and soon he would wake up from this nightmare.

"Except I don't understand why you are still so adamant that he becomes our next king. Everyone could always tell Alex never really wanted it anyway. He always rambles on about his dreams of exploring; well let him go do it! I will be king, I rightfully should be and I actually _want_ to do it."

Somewhere in the foggy distance he could hear Vlad's sharp words and they stung him, but he couldn't say he was completely wrong either. He would never have turned down his duty to his father, to his kingdom just so he could go off on a whim. But it wasn't entirely untrue that if given the option, he had no desire to take on the burden of being Weselton's next King. He wanted to help the people, that was true, but for himself he had sometimes wished for another future: one that wasn't predictably structured and planned out for him, one where he was free.

"Besides, once word of this gets out, you can imagine how the church will react to an illegitimate heir ascending the throne, the scandals will be unrelenting."

He knew Vlad was right, he had seen it happen before. The church was adamant when it came to legitimacy, and that was the last thing he ever wanted to deal with. Politics and scandals, drama and exploitation, he was always so sure he could right those corrupt wrongs when he became king, but now he realized he had no more control over them then a dog did. His high ideals of fairness and morality were a childish fantasy that would never be realized in this corrupt world— and he had no desire to deal with any of it anymore.

"Listen to me now, both of you." The King roared. "There is not going to be any scandal because word of this is not going to get out. Nothing has changed. Alexander is still going to become our next king and Vlad, you are still going to take over the northern outpost as we have always discussed. That outpost is a military base I have been grooming for years. I need you to strengthen and fortify it so can grow into its own self-sustaining satellite.

I've been upfront with both of you on all economic matters, it has not been kept secret that our resources have been dwindling year after year and trade has been decreasing proportionately. This outpost is important to the future of Weselton so we can harvest and export goods from that area. You know how important this is Vlad, I do not want to argue about this again."

"So instead I'm treated like the bastard son, who gets thrown a modicum of the kingdom and I'm just supposed to bow and say thank you to the great King Alexander? I'm so tired of this, you have always favored him even though I'm your blood and the rightful heir!"

"That is enough!" His father yelled and slammed his fist down on the desk, causing their mother to jump. "You have never had respect Vladimir, for me or for your brother, and that is your biggest problem. Rulers must learn respect in order to earn respect and that alone is why you are unfit to be king, not because I favor you any less."

For once Vlad had no sharp retort or snide expression, he looked genuinely hurt and slightly rattled at their fathers harsh words.

"This is why this was never meant to come out, look at what it is doing to all of us." His father said dejectedly, then turned to face Alex. "Son, Weselton is suffering, we are out of resources and money, you've known this. I've told you that it is imperative that you marry a well off woman with either blood ties to a wealthier nation or a dowry at the very least. I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to marry Rendella."

More betrayal and pain, the realization of how callous they were cut through him with alarming pain. Why was it up to him to sacrifice his happiness for the kingdom? It was asking more than any one person should be forced to give, it was more than a father should ask of a son. "I love her. That means nothing I suppose." He said flatly.

Alex could see the hurt flash briefly across his father's eyes, but it was nothing compared to the agonizing pain of betrayal that was ripping a hole through his heart. That pain suddenly morphed into anger, at all of them. If they really loved him they would not be asking him to give up his true love.

There was still one thing left in his control, a decision. He knew what he wanted, what he was going to do, and he didn't care what anyone was going to think of it.

He turned and looked Vlad directly in the eye. "You want to be king? The crown is yours then." He said as indifferently as he could muster. "I have news for all of you, I am marrying Rendella whether you approve of her or not, and if that among other things makes me unfit to be your next king, so be it."

Vlad stood there with a shocked and bewildered look on his face. He could visibly see his father's shoulders sag as the disappointment and despair shot across his eyes. Somewhere it hurt Alex too but he didn't see another option, they weren't giving him a choice.

"I will still take over the outpost, if that is what you want." He added unemotionally. He couldn't abandon his father completely no matter the circumstances.

His father nodded almost imperceptibly then sat there, clutching his crystal, looking shattered and defeated while his mother tried to cover up her tears. Vlad still stood silently in the corner without saying a word, though he looked pleased with himself. Let him have Weselton and all it's problems if that's what he wanted. Let _him_ know the burden of choosing an acceptable bride that he doesn't love, maybe it would force him to finally grow up, though Alex doubted it. He was done, he just wanted to take Rendella and run away from everything.

"If there's nothing else then, I suppose I'll leave at once." He said dully. He waited briefly for a response but when none came, he opened the door and walked out.

His mind was still reeling, it felt like he had just been punched in the chest and couldn't catch his breath. Suddenly it was all gone, everything he had ever known or cared about, evaporated into thin air—everything except for Rendella. He needed to find her, to look into her blue eyes and know that everything was going to be all right. She would give him the strength to do what he knew he needed to do— leave.

As he walked he realized something else was there too, rooting its way through his chest… As soon as he said he would abdicate, a growing sense of freedom and relief spread over him. He could do it. He could start fresh and new and run his own small kingdom like Thomas had done, with Rendella by his side.

They would run it together, fairly and justly, and they could be left alone and free to be together without the scrutiny of the world bearing down on them— the thought was liberating and he knew it had hold of him. The prospect of going away and doing things his own way suddenly made his chest tingle with nervous excitement and he knew there would be no going back.

* * *

The large doors of the library creaked open and in walked a very defeated looking Alex. Rendella closed the journal and stood up.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, her concern rising. She had never seen this look of pure anguish on his normally lively face before.

He said nothing, only walked over and embraced her. She held him tightly as they stood there, wondering what had just happened down there.

They pulled apart and he took her face in his hands. "I love you so much." He said, then leaned down and kissed her. "Come, walk with me and I'll explain."

They walked down to the garden and he recounted the conversation he had just had. The more he disclosed, the more she couldn't believe what he was telling her. She also couldn't help but feel as though it was her fault.

"Alex, I'm so sorry, if— if this is my fault, please don't do this for me." She said sadly. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like if she were suddenly told that Primrose wasn't really her sister. She would be hysterical, that she knew, and to abdicate the throne on top of that— she didn't want him to throw his whole life away just for her.

"Don't you know I would do anything for you?" He said with a smile. "We're on this ride together, remember? Besides, I couldn't stay here anymore, not after finding out the truth. Let Vladimir have the throne, he wants it more than I do and I'm just not up to constantly arguing with him anymore."

She was mildly surprised by how well he was taking the news that his younger brother had just usurped his future from him.

"Are you sure this is what _you_ want?" She asked skeptically.

"This is more than I could have ever dreamed of. We can build a life together Ella. We can live together in peace and freedom any way we please, with our own rules, for as long as God allows."

She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, it was infectious and she knew she'd follow him anywhere he wanted to go. "I can't think of anything in the world I'd want more."

They kissed again, and she suddenly smelled the same flowers she smelled when he had first kissed her on the balcony in Corona. She looked around and discovered that the part of the garden they were standing in was filled with purple and yellow crocus flowers.

"Looks like these little flowers are becoming something of a good luck symbol for us. They're always around us at significant times."

Alex smiled at the realization.

"Lets go now then." He said, his excitement building. "Right now, our things should still be packed on the ship! Let's start our new life right now, who are we to ignore a sign from the mighty crocus flowers!"

His eyes were excited and dead serious at the same time, he really was ready to do this.

"This is mad…" She shook her head slightly but couldn't hide the smile forming.

"That's what makes it so perfect, come on!" He said as he led her back into the palace.

"Your Highness!" The voice of Kai stopped them up. "Sir will you please tell me what is going on? There is talk that you've abdicated and that Prince Vladimir is the heir to Weselton." Kai said looking alarmed.

"Yes, the rumors are true, I am now taking over the northern outpost. We're leaving at once."

She could see the sadness spread over Kai's face at the news. "Sir I don't under—"

"It's a long story old friend, one I do not particularly wish to recount at this time, just know this is for the best, the best for everyone." Alex said sincerely.

Kai's bearing quickly shifted from alarmed and confused to witty sagaciousness, like a veteran skilled at assessing then handling an unpleasant situation.

"I would argue the point if your stubbornness wasn't so well renowned." Kai said flatly. "I suppose I shall get my things."

She could see Alex's face light up all at once. "You're coming with?"

"Someone has to keep you in line sir, and why should I break precedence on that matter now after so many years carrying that burden." Kai said with a smile.

Alex smiled and reached out to squeeze Kai's shoulder. "Meet us at the docks, we'll leave as soon as you arrive."

They were nearly at the front doors when another voice caused them to stop.

"Wait, please." It was the voice of the Queen who was briskly walking towards them. "Alex please, you must know that we all still love you very much." She said with tears in her eyes.

Rendella looked up and could see the sadness in Alex's eyes, it looked very similar to how she felt when she had left Primrose in Corona.

"Of course I do mother, but I feel in my heart that this is for the best." He said as he embraced her. "You will always be in my heart."

Rendella looked away, she knew she was part the reason for the Queens grief and had no idea how to make this right for them.

"Just please be careful." The Queen said over his shoulder.

She then turned to face Rendella. "Take care my dear." She said quietly before covering her mouth and turning around to quickly walk away.

She wanted to say something, anything to express that Alex was not lost to them, but she couldn't find the right words, so she silently watched the Queen walk away.

As they approached the docks, the King was already there, waiting for them.

"Goodbye father." Alex said stoically, but she could hear an undertone of remorse in his voice.

The King glanced at Rendella. "Son may I speak with you before you leave, in private?"

She looked down and pretended not to notice his disdainful glance and remained as silent as she was with the Queen. There was nothing she could say or do that would help this situation.

"No. If you have something to say, you may say it to the both of us." Alex said with a tone of defiance.

She appreciated how Alex was always quick to defend her, it was one of the first things she had fallen in love with about him, but she understood the need for a private goodbye.

"Really, the least I can do is give you both a moment alone." She started to pull away but Alex put his arm around her waist, keeping her in place.

"What did you need to tell us father?" Alex spoke unemotionally.

The King relented. "I want you to have this. I was going to give it to Vlad when he took over the outpost, but, well since you are now handling that, this should go to you."

He handed Alex a large leather bound book with the strange writing on the front— it was the same book she had seen in the library earlier.

"What is this a book of?" Alex asked curiously as he flipped through it.

"It's a detailed recount of my expeditions of the northern outpost. That land is rich son, not only with resources but… magic… strange creatures inhabit those mountains."

Visions of those frightening little cretins from the book, alive and crawling through the trees, caused her to shudder.

"Magic creatures?" Alex asked with a skeptical look.

"Up in the highlands, I came across a dominion of… of trolls. Little critters that look like rocks to the naked eye, and harness the power of crystals. They were benign as far as I could tell, but powerful. Should you ever need assistance, I would suggest seeking them out." He said in a low voice.

Rendella glanced up at Alex who was obviously as disturbed by the King's report as she was.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I think you should take this too, I don't believe it belongs with me anymore." He took off the crystal necklace and held it out to Alex. "The creatures— trolls, they gave it to me, long ago when I first ventured into the area and stumbled upon them. It's meant to guide, and perhaps you can figure out its meaning where I have failed."

As soon as the crystal touched Alex's hand it glowed for a brief moment, and she could see his eyes glaze over as if he was listening to something distant.

"Alex?" She asked growing alarmed.

He blinked and seemed to snap out of the strange trance he was in.

"Did you hear something?" The King asked expectantly.

Alex blinked as if straining to listen again, than nodded.

"I'll be damned, no one else has ever been able to hear the message!"

Rendella had no idea what was going on, she hadn't heard anything unusual, but the King looked livelier than she had seen him all day.

"What does it mean?" Alex asked with a look of astonishment and disbelief.

"I have never been able to interpret it, but if I were to guess, I think it has something to do with you, son."

Alex's brow furrowed like he was working through perplexing puzzle. "But I, I've just abdicated… It talks about a king rising…"

"Like I said, it's just a theory. Perhaps you will be able to decipher the meaning better than I have."

"I don't… know what to say." Alex said quietly as he stared at the crystal.

"No matter what happens, you will always be my son and be welcome here. I've discovered that I can control destiny no more than I can interpret it. Go fulfill your dreams son, the world awaits you." He then embraced Alex, and with another quick glance at her, he turned and walked down the dock.

"One last thing. I was told to keep it dry, the crystal. I have no idea why, but I wouldn't chance it." He said as he turned back towards them one final time. "Goodbye son."

Alex stood there holding her hand as they watched him walk off. Even if they still didn't approve of her, she was glad Alex was at least leaving on a better note with his parents.

They sailed north until the auroras became a permanent fixture in the night sky. "They're beautiful." She said, gazing up at the sky in awe. She had heard about the colorful lights that illuminate the sky in the north, but she never dreamed she would actually see them.

"They're almost as beautiful as you." Alex said as he put his arms around her so they were both leaning against the bulwark of the ship. "Where we're going you'll be able to see them nearly every night." He said as he kissed her cheek.

She liked the idea of that; she never thought she would tire of gazing at their mesmerizing beauty.

"Speaking of that, I think we need to come up with a name for our new little home."

She thought about it for a second, but decided she had no skill at creating names. "We'll use whatever you want."

"Mmm, well if you're leaving it up to me I choose to name it Rendella." He said with a smirk. "Rendella, the quaint outpost of the north."

"Anything but that." She stated dryly and rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm out of ideas, it's your turn."

She thought for a minute than smiled, he had given her an idea. "How about Arendelle?"

"Arendelle?" He tested it out.

"Arendelle, for Alexander and Rendella, a combination of our names." She saw his face light up and knew he liked the name.

"Arendelle, a blending of us just like the place itself will become. It's perfect." He leaned over her shoulder and kissed her.

She liked it too, it sounded strong and beautiful, everything she hoped their new home would be.

The leather book—journal, that the King had given them, still lay open in her arms. She had been flipping through it trying to gain a better sense of the land they were going to, but she couldn't take her focus away from the section on the terrifying little creatures— trolls.

Now that she knew they were not a work of fiction, but inhabited the very mountains she was soon going to live near, she needed to know everything about them— or she quite possibly would never again get a good nights rest. There was no way to discern if they truly were benevolent, only the word of the King, and that was not going to comfort her if she saw a strange shadow scurry across the woods or heard a peculiar noise in the night.

Perhaps they had given the King the crystal in an attempt to drive him mad, or to get him to believe a false message to further their own ends. What if they suddenly were to decide they no longer wished for people to inhabit their realm and cursed the land? It was all quite disturbing to contemplate and she wished she could read the ridiculous dialect so she could find out more about them.

"This is such a curious book, why is it written in such a strange language?"

"My father wrote it in old Norse, so not just anyone could read it. He had all of his private documents written that way for secrecy. He taught Vlad and I how to read and write it also."

"So you can read it?" She asked excitedly. "What does it say here about the trolls, are they malicious, friendly, deceitful?" Her tone sounded more anxious then she meant it too.

Alex smiled at her as if he thought her unrest over these little cretins was amusing, but he read it to her anyway.

"Alright it says here, _'These ancient creatures might be found in the Valley of the Living Rock, but only if they want to be found. Trolls are masters of minerals and yielders of the night sky. Their skin is as tough as rocks, but they mean and love well.' "_

That eased her mind a little, they seemed like they enjoyed their privacy and kept to themselves. Also, any creature that respected the elegance of the night sky couldn't be that horrible.

"Does it say anything more about the crystal they gave your father?"

Alex scanned the book.

"I don't think so. It cites the many different types of crystals they have at their disposal, but there's no specific mention of this one. It seems my father disclosed to us all he knew about it.

This is interesting though, it says here that all crystals have the ability to store energy. It would seem they can transmit energy in the form of thoughts, emotions and memories, among other things. It says the trolls respect the crystals because they harness sacred energy supplied by the earth and auroras and this gives them an almost cognizant awareness."

"So the crystals are alive?" She asked in awe. She had never heard of this kind of magic in her life, it was intriguing and unsettling to try and comprehend.

"I don't think they're alive like you and I are, but it does seem they have some kind of awareness, yes. Though it says they don't commune with everybody, only those whose intentions are selfless and directly connected to the information they wish to transmit. Apparently their purpose is to keep everything in balance. They all hold different types of energy and can bring destruction upon those who are greedy, selfish and wish only to use the crystals for their own means."

He finished reading and closed the journal.

Living crystals that could discern people's intentions and transmit energy— suddenly the trolls themselves, didn't seem so unnerving.

"Alex, what happened when you touched the crystal? You looked so far away, it was frightening."

He paused for a moment, looking lost for words.

"I heard a message, words hummed in my head and spread throughout me about a king who will have a powerful daughter. It was very strange, but don't let it frighten you, nothing ill came of it." He said with a smile. "In fact, why don't you give it a try? See if you can hear anything, it might help us solve this riddle."

She wasn't sure she wanted to. Alex had looked disconnected from reality when he touched it and it had been unsettling to watch.

Corona also had its share of magical folklore: old sorceresses who would cast evil spells and do unspeakable things to keep from aging. Magic was something she never had a desire to dabble in— though she had to admit, she was curious about what it might tell her. The selfish part in her heart that longed for a daughter wanted more information about this powerful daughter of a king that kept cropping up in cryptic messages.

"I'll try it." She said, holding out her hand and gesturing towards the crystal.

Alex looked surprised, but held it out to her.

Her hand was shaking slightly, but she slowly reached out took it from him.

As soon as she grabbed it a blinding white flash shot through her mind, and she no longer felt like she was on the ship. Reality seemed to melt away and she felt as if she was floating in the clouds. Looking closer, she could see that the white was actually a blizzard of snow that was swirling all around her. Momentarily disoriented, she looked around trying to see something, anything, to gain her bearings, but all she could see was white.

Then, in the distance, the silhouette of a person started to emerge from the whiteout. Her curiosity once again overtook her fear and she squinted to see who or what was approaching her. As it came nearer, the spectral figure of a woman began to materialize, and her features slowly started to become more apparent.

She was very striking, nothing about her looked remotely commonplace, except maybe the single light blonde braid that blew behind her in the wind; it was the same style Rendella regularly wore her hair in. There was definitely a majestic presence emanating from her, intimidating but not threatening, more regal, elegant and controlled— perhaps she was a queen.

Though quite possibly the most striking thing Rendella noticed, was the hauntingly sad look in her eyes. Looking into her eyes was like looking through a window to this woman's soul and something about those blue eyes was extremely familiar, like she had known her forever. With one look she sensed all the pain and suffering this woman was dealing with, and felt a strong sense of empathy towards her. Though even eyes so sad, still somehow added to her arresting beauty. But behind the pain, behind the beauty, elegance and control, she could see a woman of great kindness and vulnerability, and felt an overpowering desire to comfort her.

'_I can help you'_ Her own words came out as thoughts instead, but she instinctively knew the woman had heard her, because she smiled slightly as a tear rolled down her face. The longer she observed this seemingly bereaved woman, the more she appeared to be no more than a girl, a girl who looked very alone, lost and defeated. The innate urge to comfort and help the young woman was only growing stronger, so she slowly walked over to her.

_'Everything will be alright'_ She spoke with her thoughts. The woman didn't seem alarmed by her at least, but the words caused more tears to cascade down her face, and she worried that she had somehow made her feel worse. Through the blizzard she could tell that the woman was staring at her with a pleading look. Her eyes looked so desperate and confused, like she wanted to say or do something but didn't know what. So Rendella did the only thing she could think of, she reached out and hugged her. She hugged her tightly, like the world depended on it, like her sister would do for her when she was crying, and tried to soak the pain right out of her. She didn't understand why she felt so close to this woman, but it felt incredibly natural and right to be comforting her.

Abruptly, the blizzard receded into the distance and the snowflakes halted in midair. Rendella looked up and saw that the subsiding blizzard revealed a sunny, green, lush kingdom covered with flowers and forest, surrounded by beautiful mountains and sparkling water. They were standing on top of the tallest mountain looking down at the land.

Rendella had never seen such a beautiful place. It looked like paradise, and she wondered if that's where they suddenly were, though the woman seemed unfazed by the changing landscape, and instead still clung to her like a lifeline, sobbing into her shoulder.

_'Look. It's beautiful'_ She mentally spoke to the woman. She wanted her to see this alluring place; perhaps it would ease her suffering. The woman finally released her and turned to look at the paradise below them. She still seemed unfazed by it and Rendella couldn't understand how she was not more uplifted by this gorgeous view.

_ 'Don't let your agony blind you from this paradise. Savor its beauty, let it heal your pain and allow yourself to be happy.' _

The woman still stared unemotionally out across the kingdom, but Rendella could sense that she was struggling desperately with some unseen internal demons. The blizzard was creeping closer again, and the girl shut her eyes and squeezed her head between her hands. Rendella quickly grabbed her hands, forcing her to open her eyes and face her.

Up close and away from the blizzard, looking at her was almost like looking into a mirror though not quite exactly, and she realized why. Her blue eyes were similar to her own, but what made them nearly identical was not just physical: she recognized the same panic in this girl that plagued her. It was the fear of being inadequate, unworthy, and trapped in front of everyone while they ridiculed her for her innate shortcomings— shortcomings, like her status, that were entirely out of her control. Ultimately, this had forced her into trying to become someone she was not, to confine herself to the expectations of others. At its core, it was the desperate fear of losing grip on who she really was, and she could see that same fear reflected back at her in this woman's eyes.

_'You can't allow the fear of others scrutiny control who you are or alter how you live, worry only about what is, not what might be. You can create your own beautiful destiny if you let it go and just be you.'_

At this the woman smiled slightly and the blizzard slowly started to recede again. It receded even further until it finally disappeared completely. With the blizzard removed, they looked out and could see many different kingdoms spread out before them stretching all the way out to the horizon. These other realms however, were all much smaller and less magnificent then the original paradise that still lay before them. She could see a bright white aura suddenly spread out from the large original kingdom and infiltrate all the smaller ones, linking them all together.

None of this made any sense, and the woman seemed as surprised as she by this new perspective. They stood there gazing at the awe-inspiring sight and Rendella could finally see a spark of hope in the woman for the first time.

She was still gripping Rendella's arm, but turned away from the view to face her with a pleading look in her eyes.

_'Don't leave me, please.' _She heard the woman think.

She smiled reassuringly and nodded her head, letting her know she would never abandon her. Tears came to the woman's eyes again and she reached out, hugging Rendella tightly again.

All at once the landscape and woman dissolved and she was abruptly back on the ship.

"Ella? Darling, are you alright?" It was Alex's voice. She was sitting on the deck now, leaning against the side of the ship with Alex gripping her shoulders. It was disconcerting to be back in such a plain reality after where she had just been. She almost felt a sad longing to go back there, wherever it was, if it even was a place.

"Rendella say something, are you hurt?" She was so bewildered that she had forgotten to answer him.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. What happened?"

"As soon as you touched the crystal it glowed brightly, then you slumped to the deck. I caught you, but you seemed unconscious for a moment, are you sure you feel alright?"

"Yes, no, I mean I feel fine but I'm not sure… I think I went somewhere else just now..."

"What? Did you hear the message also?"

"Not exactly… I think… I saw a message." She said as she started to stand up. Alex helped her, she didn't feel dizzy or sick, the vision must have come from the crystal.

"What did it show you?" He asked warily.

She took a deep breath and looked up at the auroras, then out across the water. The lights illuminated the surrounding mountains and hilly forests. She realized they were sailing into a fjord, not unlike the one she had just seen in the vision.

"I think… I think I saw our daughter."


	2. Fractals

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Frozen or any of it's characters. They belong to the Wonderful World of Disney, without whom I would not have a new favorite Disney Queen with which to write about. This is for entertainment purposes only. I make no profit from this I just adore Frozen and enjoy getting lost in its world.**

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**A/N: I started out with the intention of just writing some stuff from Elsa's POV because her powers and their origins fascinate me and I personally am fairly similar in the head to her. But as I thought up more questions I needed answered, the more this story just spiraled into a somewhat involved potential sequel to Frozen. _My soul began spiraling in frozen fractals all around_ with this I suppose you could say. :) I've tried to keep it as realistic as possible, meaning no Disney fluff, and the character's as true to the way they we're originally written as I can manage.** **I hope you enjoy the ride, as I attempt to assemble more pieces of the Frozen Universe.**

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**Chapter 1: Fractals**

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She took in a breath as she gazed across the courtyard and out across the dark fjord.

Elsa released the visible puff of breath along with a few snow flurries.

The crisp cool midnight air calmed her. She had always been a night person, more energized and alive while the whole world slept. Free to be who she was under the blanket of darkness, without the judgmental and sometimes piercing glare of the entire kingdom. It was as if darkness lifted a weight off of her while it swallowed everything else and left her free. Free to just be.

It had been almost three months since the incident. The 'incident' as it was now referred to, when she finally, albeit accidentally, revealed her ice powers to the world. Three months, since she had put Arendelle into a raging and unnatural winter in July.

Elsa winced at the memory of the entire kingdom, her kingdom, swallowed by a blizzard of her own making. She could feel the ice beginning to crawl out from under her hands and creep along the balcony railing. But that time was over now. She was in control now.

She stared at the perfectly symmetrical fractals she had just produced. They really were beautiful. She had been ashamed of them for so long that getting used to the beauty of her gift felt so unnatural at first.

But she was beginning to see things differently. Everything was changing now and it was all due to Anna. She had control of her powers now because of Anna. She had her sanity back because of Anna. She had her sister again, because of Anna.

Elsa blinked and gazed up at the moon. She smiled as she remembered their first real hug right after Anna thawed, the incredible warmth and relief she finally felt at having her sister back and every quirky, funny, loving moment they had shared since. Anna had never failed her, and she would never again fail Anna.

She looked down as the beautiful fractals beneath her hands began to fold in on themselves and melt, like a flower closing its petals for the winter. She watched them, mesmerized until they were nearly gone.

A loud bang on the door quickly knocked her out of her reverie.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty it is urgent!" She recognized the voice of Kai, her closest advisor.

The melting ice on the railing quickly crystallized as Elsa snapped around.

"Your Majesty please, I know it's late but this cannot wait!" Kai hissed.

"Yes, I'm coming Kai," She responded, as she hurried across her room leaving the remaining ice to thaw on it's own.

"Kai what could it possibly be at this hour?" Elsa said as she opened the door, only to see the top of Kai's balding head.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for the hour, but it's about Weselton." Kai said, standing up from his bowing position.

At the mention of Arendelle's newly excommunicated trade partner, Elsa frowned.

"What about Weselton?" She looked at him quizzically.

She knew their relations with Weselton had been strained since she cut off trade with them last summer, but this had to be something more to warrant a midnight visit. This was unlike Kai.

"Your Majesty, I have just received word from a merchant ship returning home to Corona from Weselton. They reported that Weselton is planning and preparing an attack on Arendelle." Kai breathed, stepping back only slightly, unsure what her reaction would bring.

Elsa stood is disbelief.

"What? On what grounds? We have the perfect right to withhold our goods from any province or nation we please!" She hissed in a loud whisper aware she might wake the castle.

"Yes, I understand that Your Majesty, as do most of the other civilized nations we do business with." Kai frowned, "But as you are well aware Weselton has never been one for civility or rules." He stated dryly, remembering in disgust how the Duke of Weselton had plotted to have his Queen murdered.

"But they would be mad to attempt an attack! The fjord alone is suicide to cross at this time of year with all the ice beginning to form on it." She was practically shouting now.

Elsa could feel the ice forming in her veins.

"Apparently the Duke of Weselton has great sway with their King." Kai said rolling his eyes.

"Not only has he seemingly convinced them you are some sort of evil sorceress bent on eliminating Weselton, but they seem to be getting desperate. With the approaching winter they're running out of timber, oil and other goods we usually provide to get them through the winter." Kai finished.

She hadn't thought of that. Banning trade on Weselton was to teach them a lesson for orchestrating an attack on her. But the entire kingdom didn't deserve to suffer because of the actions of one of its misguided Dukes. She most definitely did not want innocent people freezing to death.

"I can't just freely open trade with them immediately. You can imagine how that would look." Elsa stated matter of fact.

"But I would not be unwilling to compromise… " She glanced down.

After all, if she had gotten a hold on these powers long ago, she could have been building relations with these other nations, as her father had done, and would be better equipped to avoid situations like this. These other rulers didn't even know her.

"The people of Weselton should not have to suffer because of one mans ignorance." She said as she returned to look at Kai. "What do you advise? Should I set up a meeting with King Vladimir to discuss terms for a partial lift on the…"

"I think this is beyond that now." Kai interjected. After a brief pause he continued, "Weselton's war fleet are loaded and readied in their harbor, they could leave any day. They may have already left port."

Elsa stood frozen; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How are we this close to a war and I am now just finding out about it? I could have attempted to rectify this weeks ago!" She said heatedly.

She took a deep breath, the air in the castle was choking her.

"There still must be a small window of opportunity for me to at least speak with Vladimir." She offered lamely, not knowing what else she should do.

"Your Majesty, as you know, due to Arendelle's favorable geographic location we have always been relatively safe from attacks." Kai noted, referring to the surrounding mountains and the icy fjord. "We don't expend many scouting ships, simply because we have never really needed them. Your father had relatively few enemies."

It wasn't meant as an insult, but the statement still stung. She was not yet half the ruler her father was and it was starting to cost Arendelle. She swallowed back the lump starting to form in her throat.

"Besides," He continued, "King Vladimir is a harsh man, a warlord. I doubt he would even listen. Weselton has been looking for an excuse to get at Arendelle for ages. This merely gave them an excuse."

Kai looked genuinely at her then continued, "Even your father had a precarious relationship with him. It was always a delicate situation."

Another stinging reminder of how she had demolished more of her father's hard work. Elsa paused, staring across the landing at the portrait of her late parents.

"Well, what of the merchant ship? She began, "I must speak with the captain immediately."

"He has already started out for Corona, they wanted to waste no time getting word to King Thomas about the situation and about sending you reinforcements." Kai stated.

That was for the best Elsa realized. Her mother's sister, Queen Primrose and her husband, King Thomas of Corona would aid her. But Corona was far to the south; it could be weeks before she ever saw any help from them. Elsa pulled her gaze away from her parents' portrait and returned to face Kai.

"Very well, lets reconvene in the morning and determine how best to proceed." Elsa said.

"Of course, and please try to get some sleep Your Majesty, we will figure a way out of this. I believe in you." Kai squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"Thank you Kai." Elsa said placing his hand between both of hers.

Elsa said goodnight to Kai and turned back into her room. She stood there for a long minute eyeing herself in the vanity mirror along her wall. How had she let this happen? She was single handedly ruining the empire her father had so carefully built. The ice was creeping in her veins again, up her chest, into her throat and swirling in her head until she thought she might explode. With one swift blow she turned and released an icy blast at her own reflection in the mirror, shattering the mirror and leaving an icy splatter on it and the surrounding wall.

"I will fix this Papa." She whispered as she sunk to the floor in tears.


	3. Symmetry

**Chapter 2: Symmetry**

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"Drake, I think you need to see this." General Marek motioned with his arm.

Lord Drake walked over to where General Marek was standing among the tall trees. From their perch up in the woods, the men had a clear view of Weselton Harbor below. In which sat hundreds of large imposing ships.

"Not all of these ships belong to Weselton." Marek stated. "They have help."

"It looks like they're mobilizing one hell of a war fleet. These jokers take their Viking lineage too literally if you ask me." Drake said sarcastically, nodding at the large carved animal heads of different varieties that adorned the front of most of the large ships.

"Oiy the larger me Drekkar the larger me plunder!" The two men chanted in unison, putting on their best Weselton accent.

Drake abruptly cut off his laughter and stiffened, motioning for Marek to do the same.

"Did you hear that?" Drake said turning around to face the darkness of the woods.

Both men silently drew their swords. Marek gestured with his sword to the left. Drake squinted where Marek was pointing and could just make out the silhouette of a person. Before Drake could gesture a command the silhouette took off into the woods.

"Split up!" Drake yelled, and both men took off sprinting after the figure.

Drake caught a glimpse of the figures footprints in the snow and took off in the direction they led.

The forest was so dark, he could just barely make out the trees and the footprints with the small bit of moonlight that trickled through the pine trees. Branches lashed at his face and arms as he struggled to keep an eye on the footprints.

Before he could react, he was knocked on his back with such force it knocked the wind out of him. He struggled to take in a breath, and realized the force that hit him was a large man who was now on top of him, holding his arms down. He struggled to reach his sword, which lay on the ground inches away.

"What are you doing out here spy!" The soldier roared in Drake's face.

Drake struggled under the weight of the hulking man.

"I am here to discuss business with the King, who I imagine, would be very displeased to learn that you are sitting on the Prince of Drelyn."

The man's eyes squinted.

"Then what are you doing sneaking around in the woods Prince of Drelyn?" The soldier spat sarcastically.

"Forgive me, but docking my ship in a harbor filled with war ships is not something I am accustomed to do when I have yet to secure an alliance with King Vladimir." Drake lied. "I had to cross the woods to get to Weselton, where I hope to convince King Vladimir that Drelyn is behind him." Drake said.

"Get off him." An agitated Marek spat from behind the man. "Or I drive this sword into your neck now." He said, touching the back of the soldier's neck with the tip of his sword.

The soldier released Drake and stood, keeping his hands above his head.

"Who's this?" He questioned, gesturing at Marek.

"This is General Marek, the head of my armed forces and my personal guard." Drake said, emphasizing the word personal.

Drake could hear a barely audible snort come out of Marek, but the soldier seemed convinced.

"So what are yeh after, Arendelle's plunder? Or are yeh just out for revenge on the witch who put us all in that ridiculous winter last summer?"

So all this _was_ about Arendelle Drake realized. This is what he had suspected.

"This is not a conversation I am prepared to have unless it is with the King, if you would, take us for an audience with him at once and I'll see to it that you are not punished as harshly for attacking a Royal." Drake said as regally as he could muster.

The man gave a nasty look then turned to take them down into the city.

As soon as the soldier's back was turned, Marek picked up a large log and swung it at the back of the mans head, knocking him out cold.

"Your _personal guard _thinks you should take your royal leave now my liege." Marek said sarcastically.

Drake rolled his eyes at his friend's sarcasm. "But aren't you going to carry my cape for me too?"

Now it was Marek's turn to roll his eyes.

"Seriously though, what are we going to do about this? They can't just wipe Arendelle off the map, we don't really even know what happened last summer." Marek stated.

Drake didn't know exactly either, but he had an idea. He had known Queen Elsa as a child when their fathers would do business together; and he knew one thing, she was not a witch.

"We're going to Arendelle to warn the Queen and aid her in any way we can." Drake stated as he began to walk back towards the ships.

"Right, we're going to aid Arendelle or Queen Elsa?" Marek said slyly.

Drake turned.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Buddy, I've known you my entire life, don't think I haven't picked up on your fascination with Arendelle's dear Queen." Marek said placing a dramatic hand over his heart.

Drake waved him off.

"This has to do with saving innocent lives from a nation that already has too much power and not enough morals." Drake shot back.

"Of course it does my liege." Marek bowed dramatically then ran in the direction of the ships before Drake could smack him.

* * *

"Elsaaaa." Anna loudly whispered into Elsa's ear. "Wake up sister, I have coffee!" Anna said as she flung open Elsa's drapes and ran and jumped into bed with her sister.

Elsa winced at the light and covered her head with her blanket.

"In a minute Anna." She said groggily. She had only fallen asleep a few hours ago. The events of the previous night had left her mind restless for hours.

Anna turned to the broken mirror. "What happened here?" She asked.

Elsa took down the blanket and sat up, realizing Anna was talking about the mirror. "Nothing." She said as she let out a breath and took a sip of her coffee.

"Elsa, I thought we were over this. You can tell me." Anna said sincerely.

Elsa sighed. Anna was right.

"It was nothing, I just had a little tantrum." Elsa said not looking directly at Anna.

"Over what?" Anna pressed, clearly confused.

Elsa paused and took a deep breath, unsure of how to tell her sister about the imminent attack from Weselton.

"Elsa your scaring me, just tell me." Anna said anxiously.

"Kai came to see me late last night." Elsa said getting up from the bed.

"Kai? What? About what?" Anna asked.

"Apparently Weselton is not pleased that I cut them off last summer and are making plans to attack us." Elsa said with an undertone of irritation.

Anna jumped up from the bed, spilling her coffee. "Wait, what? They're going to attack us, as in a war? Just because they aren't getting a few candlesticks from us now?" Anna nearly yelled.

Elsa nodded.

"It's a bit more complicated then that but yes, that's the general gist of it." She stated flatly.

"Complicated?" Anna said incredulously. "The Duke nearly had you killed! We should be the ones attacking them!" Anna was outright yelling now.

Elsa cringed at the memory of how close that arrow had come to her face before she'd stopped it with her ice, and how close that chandelier had been to falling directly on top of her.

"I know Anna, but the last thing we want is a war. I want to avoid that at all costs if we can, I do not want innocent people to die over this." Elsa said, as a light flurry began to fall in the room.

Anna noticed the snow and visibly calmed down. "No, no, your right. I just hate what they did to you. What are we going to do about this?" Anna asked more quietly.

"At the moment I honestly don't know, but I have a meeting with Kai in an hour to discuss it." Elsa was cut off by a knock at the door.

"Are you ladies ready for breakfast yet?" It was Kristoff's voice at the door.

Both girls froze and Anna gave her a look that Elsa immediately interpreted as, 'can I tell him?'

"Tell him. He needs to know and maybe he can help." Elsa said quietly. She also knew that Anna was incapable of keeping secrets and she wouldn't ask her to keep something like this from the man she loved.

"Yeah we'll be down in a minute!" Anna answered him.

"I'll meet you down at breakfast. Also, I'm coming with to that meeting you have with Kai. I'm with you on this, we can figure it out together." Anna said as she hugged her sister and walked out to meet Kristoff.

Elsa thanked the Universe for her little sister and turned to get dressed. She stopped short when something out on the fjord caught the corner of her eye. She turned to look and saw, far out on the water, several strange ships coming towards Arendelle.

"No," She whispered. "Not yet, Its too soon…"


	4. Tempest

**Chapter 3: Tempest**

* * *

"You're positive she's not going to freeze us on the spot?" Marek asked anxiously as the Arendelle coastline came into view. "I mean, how do we know she doesn't already know about the attack, and won't mistake us for Weselton?" Marek questioned, his panic rising.

"We don't." Drake said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"If there's one way I don't want to go it's slowly watching my extremities freeze and fall off." Marek said, nervously glancing downward.

Drake suppressed a laugh. "I don't think you have to worry about that." He said with a smirk.

"The Queen Elsa I know, er knew, wouldn't harm anyone intentionally." Drake said seriously. She had in fact, saved his life.

Drake leaned on the railing watching Arendelle grow larger on the horizon and let himself drift back to the last time he saw Queen Elsa.

He was always excited for the yearly trip to Arendelle. He loved going on trips with his father and he always had so much fun with Princess Elsa and her baby sister.

It happened such a long time ago, but he knew he would never forget. Elsa, Anna and he decided to go sledding on a hill near the woods. The first snow of the season had just fallen and Anna was raving about her favorite sledding hill that curved and sent you sliding down an icy river at the bottom. It sounded amazing and he couldn't wait to try it.

Anna had insisted that she go first and that he go with her so she could show him how fun it was.

It had been higher then it looked when they got to the top but if a four year old could do it, he reasoned so could he.

He loaded Anna on in the front and himself on the back.

"Are you ready?" Elsa said from behind the sled, ready to push.

"Yes! Yes!" Anna was bouncing the whole sled with her excitement.

He merely nodded.

"I know it seems scary now, but you'll be fine, I promise." Elsa said to him sensing his uneasiness.

He reached around Anna and grabbed the rope just as Elsa gave them a good shove, and they were off.

It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. It felt like he was flying! He joined Anna in screaming at the top of his lungs. He couldn't remember a time in his young life that he had felt this alive!

As soon as they hit the river he knew something was not right. The ice made a strange echoing noise and began to fracture like broken glass. Icy water sprayed up at their faces. He realized in horror that the ice was not yet thick enough to hold their weight.

They were still going at a terrifying speed but they were sinking, ice shards and freezing water still assaulting their faces.

"Elsa help!" Anna wailed.

He didn't know what to do, he realized there was nothing he could do but hold on and try to keep Anna from falling off.

Suddenly the ice beneath them began to reform.

In that moment everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. He saw the ice, but it didn't look like regular ice; it looked like large icy flowers were blooming beneath the sled. He was so transfixed on the beautiful ice flowers sprouting below him that all his terror left him and he knew he and Anna we're going to live.

He didn't know if he was looking at the ice flowers for an hour or a second but the sled abruptly turned left following the mysterious ice flower path toward the riverbank. As soon as the sled hit the snow bank it sent Anna and he sprawling into the snow.

Anna lay near him in the snow crying, but from what he could tell she seemed physically ok.

He was not so fortunate. His head had hit something hard and he could feel blood running down the side of his face.

From where he lay he could see Elsa running down the hill towards them.

"Anna!" Elsa shouted. "You're ok Anna. I've got you." Elsa said as she kneeled in the snow to comfort her sister.

Elsa at once snapped around to look at him.

"Oh no, Lucas!" Elsa said nervously as she swept up Anna in her arms and ran over to him.

"Lucas, ok you're bleeding. We need to get back to the castle can you stand up? You can lean on me, its not that far." Elsa said, surprisingly calm.

It sounded to him like she was talking from somewhere very far away.

"Your icy flowers are really really really cool." He said groggily. "Like magic snowflake flowers!" He mumbled.

"Ok, we need to get you back to the castle now." Elsa said hastily.

She helped him up, slinging one of his arms over her shoulder, and grabbing Anna's hand in the other, they walked back to the castle.

"Mama Papa!" Elsa yelled when she was near enough to the castle.

The King and Queen came running out of the courtyard along with Lucas' father.

"What is going on here?" The Queen asked in a frightened voice, picking up a still sniffling Anna.

"It, it was a sledding accident." Elsa replied nervously. "Down by the river, the ice… Lucas hit his head." She stammered, letting go of Lucas as his father picked him up.

Large snowflakes started to fall rapidly as the wind picked up.

The King and Queen exchanged glances. "Quickly, inside. We have a healer on staff. Anna too." The King said.

* * *

Lucas' head felt heavy, but at least it wasn't pounding anymore. It was dark where he lay, but he could see a beam of moonlight streaming down on the foot of his bed.

"I just wanna see if he's ok." Came the whispered voice of Elsa in the hallway.

Lucas strained to hear.

"Elsa you have got to be more careful with this. Lucas and Anna could have gotten seriously hurt." Came the voice of the King.

"I know I'm sorry, but it happened so fast, we didn't know the ice would break!" Elsa said in a whisper.

The King's voice softened. "I know, your right. You did good Els. You saved their lives. That is the true calling of your gift, to use it for good and to help people. You will make a great Queen someday."

The King paused, "Go on in an check on him, but be quick he needs to rest."

Lucas quickly closed his eyes pretending to be asleep. He heard Elsa walk over and stand next to his bed.

"Lucas, are you awake?" Elsa asked quietly.

He peeked open one eye and smiled. "Yeah." He giggled.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry you hit your head. I should have known the ice wasn't thick enough, that never happened before…" She started.

"Elsa, you saved my life with your magic!" He cut her off excitedly.

"What? No I didn't, you and Anna just slid over to the riverbank." Elsa said anxiously.

"Elsa I saw you." He said giving her a look. "And I just heard you talking to your Papa."

She visibly stiffened. "You can't tell anybody ok?" She said sternly.

"But why?" He said incredulously. "It was so amazing!"

"Because you just can't!" She said in a louder whisper.

He recoiled slightly.

"I'm sorry." She said looking down.

"I won't tell anybody I promise. You can count on me." He said with a smile.

"Thank you Lucas!" She whispered as she hugged him. "Uh, er night ok?" She said awkwardly as she began to walk to the door.

"Night!" He whispered after her. He lay there too excited to sleep. He couldn't believe that he was trusted with such a special and amazing secret! He would never tell, never.

Drake sighed, coming back to reality. That trip was the last time he had seen her. He had asked his father, begged him, to take him again but every year he was told no. When asked why he never got a straight answer.

After a while he thought maybe Princess Elsa just didn't like him anymore and didn't want to play with him.

As the years passed he became involved in other things and he let it go. But he had never broken his promise to her, or been able to forget about her.

Marek's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Uh, Drake?" Marek said staring wide eyed at the Arendelle palace.

Drake turned to where his friend was looking and watched as a large tempest of ice and snow began swirling around the top the palace.

"On a scale of one to ten exactly how confident are you that she's not going to ice us?" Marek said not taking his eyes off the brewing storm.

"Right now, I'd say two." Drake said staring awestruck at the swirling storm.


	5. Ice

**Chapter Four: Ice**

* * *

Elsa ran down the hallway leaving an icy trail in her wake, her powder blue cape billowing out behind her.

She burst through the large dining room doors along with a blast of cold air and flurries. Anna, Kristoff, Kai and several other members of the court turned, startled.

"There are ships! Elsa said catching her breath. "Approaching out on the fjord!" She nearly yelled. "Kai order the harbor gates closed, and get the archers to their positions on the wall! Now!" She commanded.

"Your Majesty? Kai said looking bewildered.

Elsa pointed out the large windows behind them.

They all turned to see three large black ships with strange sails approaching at a distance out across the fjord.

Kai's eyes widened realizing her urgency. "At once Your Majesty." Kai said getting up and nearly tripping over the leg of his chair as he ran out of the room.

"Elsa, could this really be Weselton? This soon? There are only three ships." Anna said with an undertone of uncertainty.

"I don't know who it is but I'm not taking any chances. Not right now." Elsa said authoritatively as she turned to walk out of the room.

"Elsa, wait! Where are you going?" Anna asked as she and Kristoff hurried after her.

"I need to make an announcement." Elsa said coldly as she strode down the hallway flanked by Anna and Kristoff.

Anna recognized this side of her sister. This was the no nonsense sovereign side of Elsa that she could switch on in the blink of an eye.

"I need to clear people out of the courtyard. I want everyone inside the gates and non military personnel out of the harbor." Elsa said deliberately, keeping up her stride down the hall. "I may have to… " She trailed off. "I don't want anyone getting needlessly hurt." She finished, striding around a corner and out onto the balcony that overlooked the courtyard.

From the balcony Anna looked up and could see that high above them a large blizzard was swirling around the peaks of the castle.

"Elsa, calm down a little, we don't know for sure those ships are from Weselton." Anna said putting a hand on Elsa's arm, her eyes still on the raging storm above.

"Your Majesty!" Kai shouted from down the hall.

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff turned as Kai approached them.

"Your Majesty the ships are not from Weselton!" Kai said coming to a halt before them, breathing heavily.

"Oh thank God." Anna breathed a sigh of relief.

Elsa still stood stiffly. "Well who are they then?" She asked.

"We recognized the Royal crest of Drelyn on the ships flags." Kai stated.

"Drelyn?" Elsa said surprised. She knew her father and King Ulric had been good friends. "Drelyn should not be a threat. My father did business with King Ulric for many years, and as far as I know we are still on good terms with them." Elsa stated, looking to Kai questioningly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Drelyn remained true to Arendelle even after your parents passing." Kai stated.

"Still, do not let the ships into the harbor. I want to take no chances right now; I'm not certain whom we can trust. Kai, please have their representative escorted to the throne room to hold an audience with me. I want to know exactly why they're here." She said in a low voice.

"At once." Kai said bowing then turning to go arrange the meeting.

Without another word, Elsa swatted her cape behind her, turned and began charging down the hallway towards the throne room.

Anna and Kristoff exchanged nervous glances then turned to follow her.

* * *

"See look, the storm is already subsiding. I told you there was nothing to worry about." Drake said cheerfully, hitting Marek playfully on the arm as the ship pulled close to the stone wall surrounding Arendelle.

"You sure about that?" Marek asked, raising his arms above his head as he nodded to the row of crossbows pointing at them from the wall above.

"The Queen apologizes for the inconvenience my Lord, but we cannot let you into the harbor at this time." A stoutly man with reddish balding hair said from the edge of the castle rampart. Two armed guards stood on either side of the man.

"Sir, I am Lord Drake of Drelyn and this is my guard, General Marek. We only wish to warn the Queen that the Kingdom of Weselton is preparing an attack on Arendelle and to aid her by any means possible." Drake finished, bowing his head.

"Queen Elsa is aware of the imminent threat." Kai stated. "You two may follow me, the Queen wishes to speak with you." He said coolly, gesturing for the guards to extend the gangway.

"She's _obviously_ well aware." Marek whispered sarcastically as they walked up the rampart flanked by the two armed guards.

But Drake's mind was elsewhere. He couldn't believe he was going to see her again after all these years. His heart started pounding rapidly in his chest and his mouth suddenly went dry. He mentally scolded himself for letting her be the reason he was nervous right now. There were more pressing matters to be worried about.

Before he knew it they had walked up through the castle and were at the doors to the throne room, his heart was pounding so loudly he was worried she might hear it.

The doors opened and they followed Kai into the massive room. The high vaulted ceilings caused their footsteps to echo. Drake was sure that his heartbeat was echoing loud enough for the entire court to hear.

There were large stain glass windows high on the pointed walls on either side of them. At the far end of the room sat the two ornately engraved thrones, one slightly larger then the other, but both embossed with the seal of Arendelle. Above the thrones was yet another large stain glass window that looked to Drake like a giant flower, or perhaps a snowflake. Standing regally in front of thrones stood the Queen and Princess Anna.

Drake's palms began to sweat as he locked eyes with the Queen. He had that familiar feeling of moving in slow motion that he hadn't felt since he was a child. He had never seen a woman like her in his entire life. The way the sunlight refracted off her icy blue dress and cape, which was swirled around her legs, made her look ethereal. With one look her blue eyes exuded an air of icy calm that was both beautiful and disconcerting. He wondered for the first time, if Weselton knew what they were doing engaging with a woman like this.

"Announcing Lord Drake of Drelyn and his guard General Marek." Kai said formally before bowing and stepping off to the side to join the rest of the court personnel in attendance.

"Thank you Kai." Elsa said calmly turning back to face the two men.

"Your Majesty." Drake said bowing his head and dropping to one knee, Marek followed suit.

"Lord Drake, may I present my sister Princess Anna." Elsa said coolly, gesturing to her right.

Anna smiled.

"Your Grace." Drake said bowing his head toward Anna.

Elsa's icy gaze locked onto Drake once again.

"I apologize for any inconvenience the palace security may have caused you," Elsa stated offhandedly. "But it has recently come to my attention that Weselton is a potential threat to Arendelle. Understand that I have been forced to take all necessary precautions to insure the safety of my people against Weselton and anyone else who wishes to partake in their surreptitious plans." Elsa stated regally, not breaking eye contact with Drake.

It was meant as a threat and he got the message.

"Your Majesty I hope to put your mind at ease. We learned of Weselton's plot against you and came here with the noblest intentions of aiding you in any way we possibly can." Drake finished.

Elsa showed no sign of emotion.

"Tell me my Lord," Elsa began, eyes narrowing as she cocked her head slightly to the right. "How exactly _did_ you learn of Weselton's plans? I myself have only recently been made privy to their plot." Elsa said with an icy edge.

"Well, the books were off." Drake said matter of fact.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused. The books?" Elsa repeated in a derisive tone.

"Yes, you see, our trade logs and books were off. They had been for weeks. Initially it was chalked up to human error, but we soon realized Drelyn was being slighted by several nations in terms of tradable goods. Weselton was one of those nations." Drake explained.

Elsa made no motion to speak so he continued, "I was sent to find out what was happening to the missing surplus of goods." He stated. "This is when I stumbled across the fleet of warships that were docked in Weselton Harbor. General Marek and I discreetly questioned a solider and learned that Arendelle is their target." Drake said somberly.

"I see." Was all Elsa replied.

"Your Majesty, Weselton's ships were not the only warships docked in their harbor. I believe they have alliances with other nations in the plot to attack Arendelle." Drake said sympathetically.

Elsa stood unmoving. She could feel the ice crawling up her chest begging to be released like a bolt of lighting. She could sense herself starting to lose it. She needed to escape and get out of this room that was suffocating her.

But Drake continued, "My best guess is that the nations that are allied with Weselton have been covertly reducing trade with other nations, such as Drelyn, in order to give more aid to Weselton. Hence the errors in our books." Drake finished.

She wished he would stop talking, she had heard enough. She just wanted out of this claustrophobic room.

"Thank you for the valuable information my Lord, it has been most useful. You and your men may stay in Arendelle for the time being, but know that it is only by the grace of King Ulric that I am allowing this. He and my father were friends for many years." She paused, "Do not disappoint me." She said coldly before turning on her heel and striding out of the room.

Anna stood alone by her mother's throne for a beat. She then quickly glanced around awkwardly and hastily followed her sister out of the room, leaving a bewildered Drake in her wake.

"Elsa what was that?" Anna asked in disbelief once they reached the hallway. "Why were you so cold to him, he was only trying to help?" It was more a statement then a question.

"Enough Anna, I cannot do this right now." Elsa said over her shoulder as she marched down the hallway.

"Elsa, you have got to stop shutting people out who are only trying to help you! You don't have to do everything by yourself!" Anna shouted at her.

Elsa stopped and turned to face Anna as snow started to swirl in the hallway.

"Trust is how you get hurt Anna. In my case, I could get a lot of people hurt if I trust someone too easily." Elsa said in an irritated tone.

"But you also get hurt by not trusting people." Anna said softly.

The snow changed to a light flurry, Elsa knew she was right. She had hurt them both by shutting Anna out for years.

"It's just so hard for me." Elsa said quietly, tears forming near the edges of her eyes. "I'm not like you, I don't know how you do it Anna." Elsa said defeated. "You see the good in people no matter what. I just, I just cant." Elsa said in a whisper.

"Yeah well look where that got me with Hans." Anna said with a chuckle.

Elsa smiled.

"You were right about him." Anna said raising her eyebrow. "But between the two of us I know we can figure out what's right and find the right people to let in together." Anna said.

Her little sister consistently amazed Elsa.

"You are a very wise woman, my sister." Elsa said walking over and hugging Anna, the snow subsiding.

"Well I learn from the best." Anna smiled, releasing Elsa from their hug and poking her in the ribs with her finger.

Elsa recoiled away and laughed.

"Alright," Elsa said taking a deep breath and rubbing her temples. "So what should we do about our Lord Drake?" Elsa asked.

"_We _aren't going to do anything this time._ I_ am going to talk to him." Anna said cheerfully as she bounded away.

"Wait, what? Anna!" Elsa called. But Anna had already disappeared around the corner.


	6. Frost

**Chapter 5: Frost**

* * *

"Brrr is it cold in here?" Marek said rubbing his arms up and down. "Wait, no sorry, that would be the Queen icing your arse!" Marek said bursting into laughter.

Drake shot him a sidelong glare.

"Oh man, I would not want to do battle with that lady." Marek said still chuckling.

"You are such an arse sometimes." Drake said as they started to file out of the room.

"You love it." Marek fired back.

Drake rolled his eyes.

Out in the hallway Drake could see Princess Anna making her way towards them through the crowd of people.

"Lord Drake!" Anna said waving as she came to a halt in front of the two men.

"Princess Anna." Drake said as he and Marek bowed to Anna. "It's a pleasure to formally meet you." He finished.

"You too, er I mean, it's a pleasure to meet you both as well." Anna said bowing her head slightly.

"Lord Drake I wonder if I could speak with you in private?" Anna asked.

"Of course." Drake said a little surprised. "General Marek, why don't you go get the men settled in." He said, turning to Marek.

The General nodded.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Princess." Marek said, bowing his head to Anna then turning to walk down the hall.

"What can I do for you Princess?" Drake asked.

"Um, lets talk in here." Anna said gesturing to a small room.

"Is everything alright?" Drake said a little worried as they entered the room.

"Yes… No, I mean yes it is it's just, I wanted to apologize for my sister." Anna said sincerely. "She's been through a lot lately and well, she can be a little… Guarded." Anna finished.

"I sensed that." Drake said with a chuckle. "There's no need to apologize, really. With everything that's going on with Weselton I would be concerned if she wasn't suspicious." Drake said genuinely.

Anna smiled. "Thank you for being so understanding, we really do appreciate you going out of your way to help us like this."

She paused, unsure of how to proceed.

"First off, I want you to know that I love my sister dearly. I would do anything for her and if any harm does come to her or to Arendelle, things will not be pretty." Anna said sternly, sounding very much like Elsa.

"However, I trust you and as I said, my sister is a little on edge right now. So if you or your men need anything, or you wish to talk about anything please don't hesitate to ask me." She said sincerely with a warm smile.

"Thank you my Lady." Drake said pausing. "Actually, since you mentioned it, there is something I would like to bring to your attention." Drake said warily. "I didn't really feel it was the appropriate time to mention this back in the throne room…" He trailed off.

"What is it?" Anna asked nervously.

"Remember when I told your sister I questioned a soldier in Weselton?" Drake said.

"Yes, you said that's how you found out Weselton was planning to attack us." Anna said questioningly.

"Well he led me to believe there is more to all of this then just consignment." Drake said. "I'm not sure if you or Queen Elsa know this, but last summer Arendelle wasn't the only place that was put into a harsh winter." Drake said carefully.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Anna said with an undertone of panic.

"I don't know how far it spread, but Drelyn was affected and I'm not certain how many other nations." Drake said.

"Oh my God." Anna said stunned.

Drake took a breath before he continued. "Apparently word got around that it was your sister who was responsible and many nations are frightened. They think she is some kind of sorceress who can curse any land she pleases at will. Others probably just don't like that she has that much power. I think the reason Weselton has so much outside help is because other nations are afraid and are backing Weselton in the hopes that they will…" He paused, choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to scare her anymore then he already probably had. "End your sisters reign."

Anna stood there for a long minute unmoving.

"So you're telling me that Weselton, along with a handful of other unnamed nations are out to personally _kill_ my sister?" Anna asked with a look of horror.

"Oh my God! They can't, they can't do that! It wasn't even her fault!" Anna yelled. "What she did to Arendelle nearly destroyed her! She hates herself for it! I can't just go and tell her this now!" Anna shouted without taking a breath. "She's still not over what she put Arendelle through last summer..." Anna trailed off, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"This can't be happening." She said quietly.

"We won't let anything happen to your sister." Drake said calmly. "Or to Arendelle." He said putting his hands on Anna's shoulders.

Anna just stood there staring at the newly forming frost on the window.

"I have to go talk to her." Anna said quietly as she turned to go out the door.

"Princess Anna?" Drake said, causing Anna to stop at the door. "Your sister is very lucky to have you in her life." He said earnestly.

She smiled slightly over her shoulder, "No luckier then I am to have her." Anna said sadly as she turned out the door.

* * *

Elsa stood in the hallway gazing out the window at the mountains across the fjord. She wished she were up in her ice castle right now instead of here in the real castle where all her problems were.

The sound of footsteps approaching broke her out of her thoughts and she turned to see Kristoff walking towards her.

"Hey bud, how are ya?" Kristoff asked knocking gently into Elsa's shoulder with his own. "Interesting guy that Draco, or is it Drake?" He said turning to look out the window.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now." Elsa said still staring out the window.

"Mmm. Have you seen that sister of yours?"

"I just talked to her, she'll be back in a while." Elsa said sounding drained of all emotion.

"Well in that case, why don't you take a walk with me. I have to go feed the Royal Ice Deliverer." Kristoff said with a smile.

That caused Elsa to smile slightly.

"Alright." She said as they turned to walk down the hallway.

"So how are you doing?" Kristoff asked sincerely.

"I don't know, how would you be if you just found out you're the reason countless nations are lined up to attack Arendelle?" Elsa said flatly.

"Eh don't be so hard on yourself. If it were up to me I would have killed that Duke on the spot for what he did to you. They were lucky all you did was ban trade on them."

"It still doesn't change the fact that countless innocent lives are in danger now because of a decision I made."

"Well for what it's worth I think that Drake fellow is genuine. I think he really is here to help us out." Kristoff said seriously.

"Kristoff, you grew up with trolls and a reindeer, what do you know about reading people?" Elsa said with a smirk.

"Whoa whoa whoa… No Queen hate on the trolls." Kristoff said smiling as he put his arms up defensively.

"Queen hate? What is Queen hate?" Elsa said scrunching up her eyebrows and smiling.

"It's stronger then regular person hate, _obviously_…" Kristoff said emphasizing the word obviously.

"Is it now?" Elsa said raising one eyebrow and chuckling. Sometimes he so reminded her of Anna.

"But seriously, he could have just went back to Drelyn when he found out about all the nations allied against us, but instead he risked coming here to help you. I think he really cares about you." Kristoff said raising one eyebrow.

"You mean Arendelle." Elsa corrected him.

"No, I mean I think he cares about you personally. I saw the way he was looking at you in the throne room. It's how I am when I see Anna."

"What?" Elsa said blushing. "That's absurd, I barely even know him!" She said waving him off.

"Besides, after our first little encounter in there," Elsa said gesturing up towards the throne room, "He probably thinks I hate him." She finished.

Kristoff chuckled. "Do you forget that I grew up with the love experts?" Kristoff said with a crooked smile as he put a hand over his heart.

Elsa had no response so she just shook her head slightly as she smiled.

"Hey Sven." Kristoff said as they entered the castle stables.

"Ri Rristoff. Ri Queen Relsa." Kristoff said in his best Sven voice. "Ri think rou should risten to Rristoff. Re's ralways right." Kristoff said in Sven's voice, as he dumped carrots into Sven's trough.

Sven rolled his eyes and shook his head as he snorted a sound that sounded like 'no.'

Elsa laughed.

"But sadly, when I end up being right about this Drake situation, and I am, I might have to kill him." Kristoff said offhandedly. "Or at least threaten him a bit." Kristoff said with a smirk as he stroked the edge of his pickaxe.

Elsa smiled.

"Thank you Kristoff." Elsa said sincerely as she stroked Sven's head.

"On the topic of love," Kristoff began, clearing his throat. "I have actually been wanting to talk to you about something." He said a little shakily. "I er, that is… You know I love your sister right?" He said, taking his cap off. "I mean, she's everything to me, I don't think I could ever live without her…" He trailed off, clearing his throat again.

Elsa could see where this was heading and she smiled.

"Well, I er, wow this shouldn't be this hard, I'm not even asking Anna yet." He mumbled quietly. "Um, I was hoping you would bless, or uh approve if I asked Anna to marry me." He said sincerely. "I know with everything going on, this isn't the best time… I was gonna do it before all this happened and now, well I don't know. Er, but I just wanted to ask you first and..."

Elsa cut off his rant. "Kristoff, I think it's wonderful." She said, smiling wider then she had in days. "Of course I approve." She said as she walked over and gave him a hug.

"Thank you!" He said lifting her off the ground in a bear hug.

"But if you had that much trouble on me, you better get practicing so you can get the entire proposal out of your mouth when you ask Anna." Elsa laughed.

"Ask me what?" Anna said sullenly as she entered the stables.

"Hey babe." Kristoff said as he gave Anna a quick kiss. "Uh, nothing. Are you ok?" Kristoff said worriedly, changing the subject. "Where'd you go before?"

"I went to talk to Lord Drake." Anna said flatly.

"Oh man, what happened? I might have to kill this guy sooner then expected." Kristoff said seriously, pounding his fist into his open hand.

"No, no its fine." Anna said looking a little puzzled as she put a halting hand on Kristoff's chest. "He was actually very nice, and really helpful."

"Then why do you look so gloomy?" Kristoff asked.

"It was something he said about my sister." Anna said turning to face Elsa.

Kristoff pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow at Elsa giving her an 'I told you so' look.

"Me?" Elsa said surprised. "Well what was it?"

Anna hesitated. "Kristoff maybe could you give us a minute?" Anna started.

Elsa cut her off. "No Anna whatever it is, it's fine. Kristoff is practically family." Elsa said glancing at Kristoff.

Anna sighed. "Ok well, er… Man this is hard." She paused.

"Oh Lord with the both of you!" Elsa laughed.

Kristoff's eyes went wide and he made a cutting motion across his neck.

"Just out with it Anna, I'm not going to bite." Elsa said with a smile.

"Ok, ok." Anna took a deep breath. "Lord Drake said that Drelyn, as well as other nations, were affected by your winter last summer." Anna said looking sadly at her sister. "He thinks that Weselton has so much help because these other nations are afraid of you and…" Anna turned away. She could feel the hot tears burning her eyes.

"And want me dead." Elsa finished somberly.

Anna nodded, tears spilling out of her eyes.

"Elsa, I just got you back! Why is this happening right now?" Anna said in a choked voice as she ran into Elsa's arms.

"Shhh, it'll be ok. I'm right here Anna I've got you. I'm not going anywhere." Elsa said sadly as Anna sobbed into her chest.

"We'll figure this out together." Elsa said as she put her chin on top of Anna's head, stroking her hair.

Kristoff walked over and embraced the both of them in his huge arms, "No one is going to do anything to either of you." He said defiantly.


	7. Black Ice

**Chapter 6: Black Ice**

* * *

"Your Excellency, these are the last of the books we have on the subject you requested." The librarian said nervously, as he set a stack of books down on the Kings desk.

King Vladimir glared at the man. "Just get out." He said menacingly.

The librarian bowed and quickly exited the room.

Vladimir picked up the books one by one, tossing them to the floor when he realized they were not what he was looking for. He closed his eyes in frustration, and then in a fit of rage he swatted the rest of the books onto the floor with an angry yell.

He was so sick of paging through these useless books and coming up with nothing.

Sticking out of the pile of mangled books on the floor, a large leather bound book caught his eye. He could make out the word fjölkyngi written on the spine in an outdated language, which he vaguely remembered meant 'magic.' This peaked his interest so he reached down to pull it out and began paging through it.

After several minutes of paging, he came across something of interest. His eyes widened as he read and a wicked smile spread across his face.

"Guards!" He shouted.

The door quickly opened as two armed guards burst through.

"Your Excellency?" One said, as they both bowed.

"Get up, get up." Vladimir said rolling his eyes. "Get Commander Dain in here now." He said in a growl.

They both stood up.

"Right now!" Vladimir roared.

The guards shuffled quickly out the door.

Vladimir sat down to study the book further. This was almost too perfect. If he could pull this off, he would have the exact leverage he needed to neutralize that icy witch and rule the nations. He sat back in his chair, pleased with himself as he stroked his red beard. He could picture himself being hailed as savior of the nations. They would all be indebted to him for putting an end to that woman's reign of icy terror and he would have all the plunder and goods he ever desired.

A knock at the door knocked him out of his reverie.

"Come in Dain." The King said.

"Your Grace." Dain said bowing.

Vladimir sat in his chair with a self-satisfying grin on his face. "We found our leverage." He said lifting an eyebrow.

"Sir?" Dain asked quizzically.

"Look at this." Vladimir said slamming the leather bound book down on the desk, open to the page he was reading.

Dain bent over the page to look. "They're rocks, sir." Dain said scrunching up his eyebrows.

Vladimir sighed, turning the page. On that page was a picture of a soldier lying horizontal with a silhouette of a tiny monster holding its hands above the soldier performing some type of magic.

"Um, what are they sir?" Dain asked clearly puzzled.

"They're trolls lad. Magic trolls." The King said with an unnerving laugh.

"I see." Dain said, wondering if the King had lost his mind. "And how are they going to be our leverage against the Snow Queen?"

Vladimir turned the page again. "These trolls rely on crystals, apparently. For everything, from light to healing, you name it." He said as he pointed to a picture of a red crystal. "This one," He paused for dramatic effect. "Is a fire crystal. It appears that these little buggers use these ones to keep warm. It says here that certain types of these crystals also have the ability to suppress different kinds of magic." He said matter of fact. "I'm betting that these fire crystals can be used to keep that icy witch all warmed up." He finished with a nasty grin.

"Sir, that's genius!" Dain said, his excitement growing. "But where do we find them?"

"According to this, they live up in the highlands of Arendelle." Vladimir said.

"Sir, with all do respect, we can't just sail into Arendelle to go looking for these trolls." Dain said seriously. "The surrounding mountains are spread out like a horseshoe around the Kingdom, not to mention the fjord. They would trap us like rats in there. Then there's the whole separate issue of getting past her," He said referencing Queen Elsa. "She'd nail us before we even got close enough." Dain finished, sounding defeated.

"How quickly yeh give up." Vladimir said condescendingly. "We're not going to just sail into their damn fjord, idiot." He said sounding irritated. "At least, _we're_ not." Vladimir said smiling as he gazed out the window at the multitude of different ships he had at his disposal that were docked in the harbor.

"Sir?" Dain asked quietly.

"We're goin to create a little diversion that in no way will even implicate Weselton." The King said still staring out the window. "Would yeh say Renwall is our weakest ally right now?" Vladimir asked.

"Yes, I would suppose so. They have only five ships at the ready out there." Dain said quizzically.

"Five is enough." Vladimir said quietly. "Tell Renwall that due to their excellent sailing ships, we have chosen them to be the first wave of ships when we begin the attack on Arendelle. Tell them that they are to take their five ships and begin the assault, and that the second wave will follow shortly." Vladimir said, his gaze still fixed on the harbor.

"While they are distracting Arendelle, we will take two of our own ships and discreetly sail around the backlands, behind the mountains. From there we'll make our way up to the highlands and find the trolls." Vladimir finished.

"Sir, you would be sending Renwall on a suicide mission." Dain said hesitantly.

"We're not going to let _them_ know that." Vladimir said with a wicked grin. "Sacrifices must be made for the greater good, you understand that right Dain?" He finished, locking Dain in a menacing stare.

"Of course," Dain said shifting his gaze away from the piercing glare of Vladimir's black eyes. "I will see that it is done." He said bowing and walking out of the room.

"That's a good lad." Vladimir said to himself as he returned to study the book.


	8. Flurries

**Chapter 7: Flurries**

* * *

Elsa quietly got out of bed, hoping she wouldn't wake Anna. After the ordeal the previous night, she wanted her to get some sleep. It had taken some time to calm her down last night, and then she'd fallen asleep in Elsa's bed.

Elsa sighed. In a strange way the news that several nations were after her personally, wasn't as hard to handle. They had a right to want revenge on her after what she did, and she would take responsibility for her actions. But the people of Arendelle had done nothing wrong, and they would be protected at all costs.

She finished getting ready and started making her way around the bed towards the door.

"Elsa?" Anna said groggily. "Where are you going?" She said, turning over on her side to face Elsa.

Elsa walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Anna. "Nowhere, just go back to sleep." Elsa whispered brushing Anna's hair off her face.

"Not gonna be able to go back to sleep till you tell me." Anna said yawning, her eyes still closed.

Elsa paused. "I'm going to apologize to Lord Drake." She said quietly.

Anna smiled, her eyes still closed. "Be nice to him." She said, opening her eyes just a slit.

Elsa chuckled. "Aren't I always?" She joked as she kissed Anna's head. "Get some sleep." Elsa ordered as she got up to leave.

Anna raised her hand feebly and waved goodbye, closing her eyes.

Elsa walked slowly down the hallway planning what she should say to Lord Drake. She was not the best at personal conversations with people she didn't know. She could talk business all day with ease, but she hated small talk and being probed about her personal life. Sometimes she knew she could come off a bit aloof, or even haughty when she didn't intend to, so she closed her eyes and tried to channel Anna. Anna always managed to come across so warm and friendly. Elsa sighed; she had never had that gift.

"Oof!" Elsa coughed as she collided with General Marek.

"Your Majesty, my deepest apologies! I didn't see you coming around that corner…" Marek stammered, releasing her shoulders.

"No, no it was entirely my fault." Elsa said, composing herself. "I was lost in thought and wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She said apologetically.

Elsa paused. "Actually I, I wanted to thank you for coming here to help Arendelle." Elsa said sincerely. "I may have been quick to judge you yesterday and I want to apologize to you, and to Lord Drake when I find him." Elsa finished.

"Your Majesty, only weak leaders would trust before raising suspicions. From where I stand, you do not seem like weak person at all." Marek stated seriously.

Elsa smiled in acknowledgement of his compliment. "So do you know where I might find Lord Drake?" She questioned.

"I believe he is out walking the grounds." Marek stated.

"Thank you General, and if you or your men need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me." Elsa said sincerely.

"Thank you Your Majesty." Marek said bowing.

Elsa nodded her head as she turned to walk down to the grounds.

* * *

Anna lay there for a while before realizing that she was not going to be able to fall back asleep. She got up, put Elsa's robe on and walked down the hall to Kristoff's room.

"Hey." Anna whispered, kneeling next to Kristoff's bed where he lay sleeping.

He rolled over. "Morning babe." Kristoff said as he picked up Anna and rolled her into bed with him.

"Whoop!" Anna said surprised, as she laughed.

"You doing better today?" He asked as he leaned over and kissed her.

Anna smiled at him. "Yeah, I mean, I'm about as good as I'm going to be with all this." She said, propping herself up on one elbow and gazing down at the sheets.

"Hey, you know we're not going to let anything happen to her." Kristoff said reassuringly as he tipped her chin up to look at him.

Anna took a deep breath. "I know. I just, I have this image of soldiers firing crossbows at her, and it just wont get out of my head, and I just…" She took a deep breath to keep the tears down. "I'll be fine." She finished, not wanting to start this again.

"Actually, I came to ask you for help on something." Anna said with a mischievous smile.

This was the girl he knew and loved, full of life, love and crazy ideas. If anyone took that from her, from him… He didn't even want to think about that possibility.

"Oh yeah? What with?" Kristoff said, pushing his thoughts away.

"Well, my sister has decided to go speak with our dear Lord Drake." Anna said, batting her eyelashes seductively.

"Ooooh, so she listened to me." Kristoff said with a smirk.

"You? What did you say to her?" Anna asked looking confused.

"Well, I told her I think he has a thing for her." Kristoff said, batting his eyelashes back at her. "Which, I'm pretty sure he does, based off my excellent love sensing skills."

Anna rolled her eyes and punched his arm. "Well, I guess were on the same page with that, because I sensed a little something going on when I talked to him also. Which, is actually, why I want your help."

Kristoff squinted at her. "Ahhh, you want me to help you spy on them." he said with a mischievous smile of his own.

"_Spy_ is such a harsh word." Anna said dramatically. "It would be more like, observing from a distance for her own good. Like guardian matchmakers." Anna said cheerfully. "Lets face it," She said lifting her eyebrows. "My sister is inept at being open and forthcoming, sometimes she just needs a little… Push." Anna said innocently, twirling the blanket around her finger.

Kristoff raised one eyebrow. "Well what kind of Royal Ice Master would I be, if I didn't help you spy on my Queen." Kristoff said, leaning over and kissing her again.

* * *

Elsa walked out on the castle grounds and took a deep breath. It had snowed during the night and the grounds were covered in a thick white blanket. Snow was still falling lightly and just being out of the castle was relaxing. She didn't see Lord Drake anywhere.

As she walked, she casually made swirling motions with her right hand, releasing beautiful icy swirls into the air. She made a mental note to come out and do this more. She couldn't remember the last time she even had a chance to leave the palace.

Elsa threw up one hand, then the other in one long graceful motion, releasing two jets of icy swirls into the air above her. She smiled as she curled them around above her creating swirling geometric patterns of ice and snow in the air.

"Very beautiful." Came the voice of Lord Drake behind her.

Startled, Elsa quickly snapped around as the swirls dissipated in the falling snow flurries. "Lord Drake." She said, embarrassed.

"Please, don't stop on my account." He said with a warm smile. "That was very impressive, it looked like you were making ice flowers."

"Yes, well, something like that…" She said looking down.

"Please, call me Drake. I'm not really one for titles." He said walking over to her.

She smiled. He looked much different out here, up close… Then again, perhaps she was just more relaxed then the last time she encountered him, she mused.

"Of course, Drake then." She said nodding her head.

"If I may…" They both began in unison, and then broke into a chuckle.

"You first." Drake said suppressing his smile.

Elsa smiled. "I was just going to say that I owe you an apology for the way I behaved yesterday. I realize you are putting yourself and your men in great danger by coming here, and I want you to know, I very much appreciate it." She said sincerely, looking directly into his granite grey eyes.

She had become accustomed to reading people by their eyes. It was how she learned to deal with dignitaries and other people on the chronically corrupt political level. She could always tell a persons character by their eyes, and this mans eyes were mesmerizing her. They were very deep and kind eyes, familiar almost, she thought.

"I deeply appreciate the sentiment, but truly there is no need. You were concerned with protecting your people, there is no nobler cause for suspicion then that." He said, smiling.

Elsa smiled in return. She found it very difficult to break away from his gaze.

"So, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?" She said questioningly.

"Well, there's not much to tell I'm afraid. I grew up in Drelyn, and as soon as I was old enough I set out to explore the realms."

"Just like that?" Elsa said incredulously. "Don't you have any family? Or responsibilities you were leaving behind?"

"Well, yes I have a father, who I still visit and love very much. But I needed to be free. Ever since I was a kid I've wanted to explore every corner of the realms and just live, truly live, with complete freedom. I do have duties and obligations back home that I will need to take care of one day, but that day is not today." He finished.

Elsa stood stupefied. "Well I must confess I'm envious. You'll have to tell me about these expeditions sometime." She said with esteem.

"Perhaps after all this is through I could take you on your own expedition." He said sincerely, smiling warmly.

"I think I would like that." She said genuinely. "If we get through this that is…"

* * *

"Can you hear anything?" Anna whispered from atop Kristoff's shoulders as they peered out from behind a stone wall.

"Not really, it looks like it's going well though." Kristoff said hopefully.

"Eh, don't be deceived, my sister can make anything _look_ like its going well, then you turn around and wonder what just hit you. I wish I could hear." Anna said impatiently.

"Here let me just try to move you a little further around the wall…Whoa whoa whoa!" Kristoff yelled as he lost his footing on the ice, falling to the ground.

"Kristoff!" Anna hissed dangling from the top of the wall. "Kristoff the ice! I can't hold! Ooomph." Anna grunted as she slid from the wall landing on Kristoff.

"That was a bad idea all around." Kristoff said from underneath Anna. She glared at him in return.

"Wait, what was that?" Elsa said puzzled, looking around. "Anna?" Elsa said incredulously, squinting at a scrambling Anna as she slid off a stone wall across the yard.

"Anna? Kristoff? What on Earth are you two doing?" Elsa called out dumbfounded.

Anna and Kristoff both looked like two deer staring down a crossbow.

"Well, uh, er…" Anna called back panicking. "Snowball fight!" She shouted, picking up a wad of snow and lobbing it at her sister. It hit Elsa smack on the side of the face.

"Haha!" Kristoff yelled, picking up his own snowball and launching it at Drake. That one hit him square on the face.

Elsa and Drake stood there dumbfounded for a brief moment before exchanging knowing glances.

"You're dead Sister!" Elsa yelled as she materialized a giant snowball and started after her sister, Drake grabbed a wad of snow and followed suit.

Anna and Kristoff's eyes went wide and they took off running towards the opposite end of the grounds.

Elsa brought up a curved wall of snow that caused Kristoff and Anna to turn back in the direction of Elsa and Drake.

"No fair!" Anna yelled angrily as Elsa lobbed the monster snowball on top of Anna's head. Drake fired, and hit Kristoff in the chest.

"Victory!" Elsa yelled laughing.

"Never!" Kristoff yelled as he fired a snowball at Elsa.

Drake moved in and put his arms around Elsa to block the hit and in doing so, slipped on a patch of ice.

"Whoa!" Drake yelled as he fell, bringing Elsa down on top of him, both laughing hysterically.

"I… apologizeee… Your Majestyyy!" Drake said through fits of laughter.

She liked the way his laugh sounded, it was so genuine and childlike, she couldn't help but laugh herself.

"No need good sir, you saved me from a perilous sneak attack!" Elsa laughed as she lay on top of Drake. She couldn't remember the last time she had had real fun like this.

Anna and Kristoff exchanged glances with a smirk.

Elsa suddenly realized she was still lying on top of Drake and quickly got up, brushing the snow off herself.

Drake then stood up, shaking the snow out of his shaggy brown hair.

"Next time I'm putting the, 'No Ice Magic From Elsa' law into effect." Anna said with a hint of annoyance.

"Well, with Drake as my human shield I suspect I won't even need to use magic." Elsa said tauntingly with a laugh.

"I would take a snowball for you any day My Lady." Drake said dramatically as he dropped to a knee.

Elsa laughed.

Anna and Kristoff once again exchanged a victory glance.

Just then, the church bells began to bong.

"Oh! The meeting I completely forgot!" Elsa said, startled.

"What?" Anna asked.

"The strategy meeting, with Kai, in court! We're late!" Elsa said gesturing for Anna to come with her. "We'll meet you both there after we change!" Elsa called as she grabbed Anna by the arm, and hastily made their way back to the castle.


	9. Formation

**Chapter 8: Formation**

* * *

"Yeah that's pretty much how it is around here with those two." Kristoff said to Drake with a chuckle.

"Bjorgman by the way, Kristoff Bjorgman." He said, extending a hand out to Drake.

"Drake." Drake said simply, shaking Kristoff's hand and smiling.

"So your uh…" Drake said gesturing to where Elsa and Anna had just taken their leave.

"Yeah I'm with Anna." Kristoff said smiling.

"I spoke with her yesterday, she seems like a very special person." Drake said sincerely.

"She is." Kristoff said simply.

"So um, does her sister." Drake said, glancing downward.

Kristoff chuckled. "Ah yes, our dear Queen, sister to the love of my life, ruler of Arendelle and ice mistress extraordinaire." Kristoff said in an announcer style voice.

"Yes, she um… She does seem like a very extraordinary type of person." Drake said with a far away look in his eyes.

"An extraordinary person you would like to get to know better, it would appear." Kristoff said raising one eyebrow.

Drake went flush in the face. "Well, I um… Yes." He confessed with a sigh.

"Lucky for you, I don't hate you." Kristoff said with a grin as he slapped a hand on the back of Drake's shoulder.

Drake chuckled. "We'll I'm certainly glad about that." He said seriously.

Kristoff purposely kept silent for a long minute.

"Don't give me reason to hate you." He finally said, smiling, but with an undertone of menace, as he grabbed Drake's shoulders from behind and shook him slightly.

Drake smiled, understanding Kristoff's threat. "My intentions are pure, I can promise you that." He said sincerely.

"Then we should have no problems." Kristoff said as he released Drake's shoulders.

"So, what is it that you do?" Drake asked, changing the subject.

"I'm Arendelle's official Ice Master and Deliverer. I also make ice carvings in my spare time." Kristoff stated.

"Really?" Drake said, his interest piqued.

"What, your into ice?" Kristoff said skeptically.

"Well, sort of. I've kind of been fascinated by it ever since I was a kid." Drake said earnestly.

"Well, we may get along better then I expected." Kristoff said slapping Drake on the shoulder as they walked back to the castle.

* * *

"So are you going to tell me what that was all about?" Elsa said sharply as she and Anna paced quickly down the hallway.

"What ever are you talking about? Oh look we're here!" Anna said hurrying ahead as the guards opened the doors to the Great Hall.

Elsa shook her head slightly as she and Anna entered the large room. Kristoff, Drake, Marek and Kai were already seated at the long meeting table along with several other of Arendelle's dignitaries and officers.

They all rose when Anna and Elsa entered the room.

"Thank you all, you may be seated." Elsa said spreading her arms out. "My sincerest apologies for our tardiness, Princess Anna and I were attending to an important matter." Elsa said as she shot daggers at Anna.

Kristoff and Drake both suppressed a smile as Anna shuffled quickly to her seat next to Kristoff.

Elsa walked calmly over and stood in front of her chair at the head of the table. Anna sat to her right, and Kai to her left. Next to Kai sat Drake and Marek.

"Thank you all for coming," Elsa began, sweeping her single braid behind her shoulder. "The goal today, is to discuss how best tactically to go about forming our defenses. Note that Weselton has several hundred warships at their disposal. We have no information yet as to when this may happen, or how many of their ships they might send." Elsa stated regally.

"We are defending, keep that in mind. I do not want lives lost in vain due to excess offense. We are out numbered in terms of ships, make no mistake about that, but we have a huge advantage geographically. We should definitely not overlook using the surrounding mountains and the fjord to our advantage; they will be our greatest assets. I want all of our bases covered, we want to deal with as few surprises as possible." Elsa paused. "I also, will be doing everything in my power to halt them before they reach our borders." She finished.

Drake and Marek both sat there with their mouths slightly agape. Extraordinary did not quite begin to cover the magnitude of what Elsa was, Drake thought, smiling to himself.

"You may speak freely." Elsa added as she took her seat.

"We'll, if I may suggest something we use in Drelyn." Marek began. "Does Arendelle make use of trebuchets? You know, the catapults that sling fiery rocks and other debris at enemies approaching a castle?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Most of our warfare is naval; the castle has never really needed trebuchets to defend it." Elsa answered.

"Well, what I'm thinking, is if we hide several trebuchets up in the mountains, and on the shoreline of the fjord. There is a chance we could take out some enemy ships that way, provided the launchers can aim. At the very least it will hold them up." Marek finished.

"That's ingenious, Kai…" Elsa started.

"I'm getting it Your Majesty." Kai said as he furiously scribbled on a piece of parchment.

"The ships we brought are at your disposal of course." Drake stated. "We'll coordinate with your officers to determine the best way to fortify the fjord."

"Good, but as I said, minimal offense. I do not want to lose ships if we can avoid it." Elsa stated. "I'm also fairly certain we will see aid from Corona, but I have no timeframe for when they may arrive."

"I have an idea?" Anna interjected. "Well, what if Kristoff and I asked the trolls for help?" She said quietly, unsure of how this would be received.

"Yeah! They have powerful magic at their disposal; it's worth asking them. I'm not sure how it all works exactly." Kristoff said scratching his head. "But I know they'll help if it's within their power to."

"It's worth a shot." Elsa said shrugging her shoulders and nodding.

"Your Majesty?" Came the voice of one of Arendelle's ship captains, seated further down the table.

"Well, um. I must confess, the men are… You see after last summer, some of the men are concerned… Well, we know your gift will greatly help to protect us, however some of the men are… are afraid of it…" The Captain said sheepishly. "It may help if you spoke with them." He said sincerely.

Elsa didn't blame them. The entire Kingdom saw what she was capable of, including turning her own sister into a frozen statue.

"Of course Captain, if you think it will put their minds at ease, I will speak with them. I have much greater control of the gift now, and the people of Arendelle have nothing to fear from it or from me anymore." Elsa said sincerely.

Though her control over it was still not complete, she thought bitterly. It still showed itself when she got too emotional, and it still took great effort to call up the emotions needed to thaw the ice. In the heat of battle, she didn't know if she would be able to focus enough to thaw anything if she had to.

"If there is nothing else," She said pausing for any last comments. "Then the meeting is adjourned."

"Captain, will you gather all the men in the courtyard, I have something I'd like to say to them." Elsa said as everyone began to get up and file out of the room.

"At once your Majesty." The Captain said with a smile.

"Drake, will you ask your men to join them in the courtyard, we're all one now, so I think they need to hear this too." Elsa asked.

"Of course, I'll get them at once." Drake said as he turned to walk out of the room.

The room emptied except for Anna, Kristoff and Elsa.

"You want me to go with you?" Anna asked.

"No. I need to do this one alone." Elsa said, sounding far away.

"Alright, well meet you after." Anna said, giving Elsa a quick squeeze on the shoulder before she and Kristoff exited.

Elsa sighed. What could she say to these men? Men whose lives were about to be put on the line because of her. Men who, rightfully so, were terrified of their Queen.

She took a deep breath, swatted her cape out of her way, steeled herself and walked out the door towards the courtyard balcony.

* * *

Outside the men were beginning to gather, Anna, Kristoff and Drake all stood off to the side in the courtyard, waiting for Elsa to appear.

"What do you think she's gonna say?" Anna whispered to Kristoff.

"Not a clue." Kristoff answered, as Elsa walked out onto the balcony.

She stood there with her hands clasped regally for a minute as the last of the men filed in and began to quiet down.

"Thank you all for coming." She began; the crowd grew silent. "It has been brought to my attention that many of you are concerned about the imminent threat to Arendelle and the part my gift will play in defense of the attack; and how it will affect all of you." Elsa paused, unsure of how to proceed. She took a deep breath before she began.

"I have recently learned that we can all be only what we are, nothing more, or less. Willfully turning aside from the truth is treason to one's self. There is a part of me that is destructive and dangerous, this is not a secret. It is as much a part of me as the color of my eyes. I was fearful of it and hid from it for most of my life and doing so nearly destroyed everything I care about including myself."

"Those who seek to destroy us are fearful. They fear the unknown and are ignorant of the truth and feel that these are valid reasons to attack Arendelle. Do not let fear control you; it will only end up in destruction. Worry about what is, not what might be."

"I will not stand before you, as your Queen, and promise that no one will get hurt in this fight. I do not make promises I cannot keep. However, what I can promise is that I will be with you every step of the way. I will be out there with you, using everything I have, everything I am, and will aim it directly at our enemies. These people can destroy those who speak and embrace the truth, but they can never destroy the truth itself."

The crowd began to stir like a hungry monster.

"Arendelle did not start this, but I can promise you that I will finish it." Elsa said with a severely threatening tone. She then lifted both of her of her hands and shot two large jets of icy snow over the crowd. They exploded midair and released a whirl of snowflakes that fell on the crowd.

At this the crowd went insane, jeering, chanting and pumping their fists. The chanting turned into one large roar that slowly became audible words.

"Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!" The crowd thundered.

Then all at once the front of the crowd dropped to one knee, followed by the rest.

"Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!" They continued chanting.

Elsa stood there in astonishment. She had meant merely to ease their minds for the upcoming battle; she had not expected this. At the sound of these men chanting something came over her, a strength and vengeance she didn't know she had. She would fight for these men, for the people of Arendelle and for Anna. She meant every word and would see her promises through, or die trying.

She glanced over to where Anna, Kristoff and Drake were standing and smiled. She would protect them, at all costs.

Anna saw her looking and gave her a huge smile before dropping to her knee and mouthing, 'Long live the Queen.'


	10. North Wind

**Chapter 9: North Wind**

* * *

Drake trailed Kristoff and Anna, lost in thought. She didn't think she was going out to war with these beasts did she? She spoke as if she wanted to be out on the fjord fighting in ships with her men. He did not like the idea of her being an open target for hundreds of hungry, vicious soldiers. Ice power or not, if they got hold of her… He pushed that thought from his mind. She could defend herself he reasoned, but she was not invincible. She could still be hurt or even killed if she went out there…

"Elsa, that was amazing!" Anna said as they approached Elsa in the hallway.

He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn't realized how long they'd been walking.

"I mean, like bam! You gave those men all the confidence they'll ever need!" Anna said punching the air with her fist.

"Well, I hope so. Difficult times are approaching and the last thing they need to be worrying about are my powers." Elsa said with a hint of sadness.

"Actually about that… Your Majesty may I speak with you for a minute?" Drake interjected.

"Drake, I think it's fine if you just call me Elsa, we're all friends here." She said smiling.

This caught him off guard and caused his heart skip a beat. Calling her by her name was personal. It seemed almost intrusive to be calling a woman like this by her first name. He quickly recovered, smiling.

Anna and Kristoff exchanged a quick glance.

"Yeah so, I think were just gonna go, lots to do, you know… Trolls and stuff… Ok, so love you bye!" Anna said so quickly it was barely discernable. She simultaneously grabbed Kristoff by the arm and dragged him down the hallway at a breakneck pace.

"They're not exactly subtle are they?" Drake asked with a smirk.

Elsa smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Subtle? My sister? Not exactly the word I'd choose to describe her." Elsa said with a chuckle.

"No, I suppose not." Drake said with a smile.

They both stood there in silence for a long minute.

"That was very impressive, what you said to those men. You gave them the greatest gift a leader can give on the eve of a battle. You gave them hope." Drake said sincerely.

"Elsa," He immediately liked the way it felt to say her name. "Arendelle needs you safe, your sister needs you safe…" He paused. "I need you safe. You are quite possibly the strongest, most competent person I have ever met, but you're not invincible. What if you go out there and get yourself hurt or killed? Forget about me, forget even about Arendelle, you know what that would do to your sister." He said worriedly.

She smiled that half smile that made him want to melt into wax.

"Drake, I'm very touched by your concern, truly I am. But I created this mess, I in no way am going to sit on the sidelines while I send my people to fight this fight for me. I can't do that, please don't ask me to." She said with that look of sincerity he found absolutely alluring.

He looked into her sky blue eyes and knew she was not going to budge on this. He loved that about her actually. Her fixed determination to protect and the way she so genuinely cared about people. He only wished she would give more consideration to her own well being.

"I can make no promises." He said sincerely, followed by a long breath. "Alright then, so how are we going to go about keeping you safe out there?" He asked.

Elsa chuckled. "Me? How are we going to go about keeping _you_ safe out there?" She asked with a smirk. "I can freeze the entire fjord if I'm in danger, what about you?" She asked sincerely.

There she went again, concerned about his safety when she was the target of several nations. It was maddening and enthralling.

"We'll I guess I'll just have to stick by you then." He said as he took her hand in his. Her skin was smooth and icy cold and he wished he could relinquish all his warmth to her.

"That way we can protect each other." He said with a smile.

Elsa stood there for a minute unsure of how to react to his touch. She was not used to being touched by anyone other then Anna. But his touch was electrifying. His hand was so warm and for once she liked the feeling of being warm, but she pulled away.

"Drake, please…" She said quietly. "I… The people closest to me are the ones who get hurt… I don't want that for you." She said sadly, careful not to look directly at those mesmerizing granite eyes of his.

She was at it again, pushing him away for his own safety. He would get through those ice walls of hers, if he had to chip away at them for a thousand years.

"Eh, just ask Marek, it takes more then a little ice and tiny war to take me out of the game." He said with a smile. That honest grin never failed to make her smile, even if just a tiny bit.

"Elsa look, I trust you and I hope you know you can count on me. I just want you to be careful, ok?"

She had never met a man like this in her entire life; he seemed so familiar yet she couldn't place it. He was nothing like the haughty, self-serving dignitaries she was used to dealing with on a regular basis. He was genuinely humble, in a quiet yet humorous sort of way. She wished he wasn't so kind and understanding, it made it so much harder to push him away. But she knew she had to, the way she was, she didn't think she could ever be with anyone.

"How can you trust me so easily? I still don't completely trust myself?" She said with a hint of anguish.

He hated seeing her in this inner war with herself, he would give anything to keep that beautiful half smile on her face.

"I just do." He said simply.

She saw the truth in his eyes and it made her all the more flummoxed. He would run if he knew the truth about her past, she was sure of it; but a part of her was grateful that he wasn't so easily deterred.

"So have the scouts reported any ship sightings?" He asked, deciding it was best to change the subject.

She seemed visibly relieved to have the subject deflected away from herself. Another enigma, he mused.

"No, thankfully. They've not reported anything, however we have relatively few trained scouts. The way Arendelle is positioned we have never really had use for scouts, all ships would have to come through the opening in the mountains and we could see them coming for miles. That and Arendelle has always had very few enemies…until now." She said sounding defeated.

"Well, it could be of use to put some men up in the mountains, they would have a better vantage point and could see ships coming from a much greater distance. We would have ample warning that way." He said matter of fact.

"Yes that's a good idea, I'll get Kai on it…" She trailed off looking lost in thought. "Actually," She said raising her eyebrows. "I'll go." She said with a half smile as she started to walk down the hall.

Drake stood there perplexed for a minute.

"That wasn't exactly what I meant…" He said before hurrying to catch up with her.

"Elsa wait, what are you talking about?" He asked as he grabbed her shoulders to stop her pace.

"I, well, I know the mountains well. I can go up the north mountain to check for ships and be back inside of a day. We should still post scouts up there, but for the interim I can check the quickest." She stated matter of fact.

He decided it was very dangerous to propose ideas to this woman. She could turn one useful suggestion into an extravagant, self-endangering plan.

Drake took a long breath. "Alright, if you insist on going, it's only reasonable that I accompany you. What would you do should you encounter a stray snowball up there?" He said with a smile.

She laughed. "Naturally I would be an easy target without a human shield." She said in jest.

"Drake, really though, I am more than capable of going up there alone, you probably have things to prepare…"

"Ah! Not another word of protest or I tell your sister of your little plan." He said slyly, cutting her off.

"You wouldn't dare." Elsa said narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh wouldn't I? I don't think she would be very receptive to the idea of her favorite sister, who is wanted by several nations I might add, to go gallivanting off into the mountains alone now would she?" Drake said with a smirk. "I seriously doubt you would approve of her romping off alone to see the trolls at a time like this." He finished. He knew he had won this one.

Elsa was silent.

"Touché Lord Drake. You're very good." She said raising one eyebrow.

* * *

"I can't stand it Kristoff! Just let me go back for five minutes and listen!" Anna hissed at Kristoff as he grabbed her shoulders and began marching them in the opposite direction of Drake and Elsa.

"Look, I'm all for being guardian matchmakers or whatever, but they need actual alone time for this to work." Kristoff said over her shoulder as he continued marching her down the hall.

"But they would still _be_ alone." Anna said blatantly. "I would just be listening!"

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "We better get ready anyway. I think we should leave for The Valley at first light. The sooner the better if you ask me, it's a long ride up into the highlands."

At this Anna perked up. "Can't say I'm sad that we get to spend some alone time together out there that's for sure." She said with a seductive smile.

He certainly didn't mind it either.


	11. Crystal

**Chapter 10: Crystal**

* * *

Anna yawned tiredly as she lay in bed. It was still dark out and she had no desire to get out of bed this early. She smiled as she remembered that soon she and Kristoff would be on their way to visit his 'family' as he so affectionately referred to the trolls as. She realized she hadn't been up to see them since the summer, when she and Kristoff went there seeking help for her freezing heart. She made a mental note to visit them more, and not just when she wanted their help. She genuinely liked them and Kristoff had grown up with them after all.

She stretched and slowly got up to get dressed. It was so dark that moonlight still shone through her window.

She hoped Elsa would be ok while they were gone. She knew the trolls were less then a day's journey and that they could make it back quickly if something were to happen. It wasn't that so much as Elsa's state of mind she was concerned about. She knew that being alone with her own thoughts was a bad mix for Elsa, no matter how vehemently she'd deny it. Her sister was the type of person who needed distractions. Without distractions she would get to thinking and obsessing, and Elsa already over thought everything as it was.

Anna sighed. She knew Elsa blamed herself for the whole Weselton ordeal. No amount of convincing on her part was going to get that out of her sister's head, and she didn't want her dwelling on it the whole time she was gone.

Anna pursed her lips and smiled. If she couldn't be here to be Elsa's distraction, she would have to go recruit a substitute distraction.

Anna chuckled as she scuttled out the door to go arrange for her substitute.

"Drake? Drake are you awake?" Anna whispered loudly as she knocked on his door.

She could hear movement on the other side of the door.

"Drake, I'm sorry, I know its early I just want to quickly…" She was cut off as Drake opened his door, looking like he just woke up.

Anna's eyes went wide as she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. She quickly put a hand up to the side of her face, as she turned sideways.

"Oh wow, sorry. Wow this is awkward, not you're awkward, I'm just... Sorry…" Anna finished lamely.

"Princess Anna!" Drake said equally as startled. "I… I thought you were Marek, or one of my men… I sincerely apologize…" He said as he went to grab a shirt.

"No, no don't be sorry… " Anna said as she peeked through her fingers.

"There, all decent." Drake said returning to the door. "Is everything alright? Is your sister…" He began worriedly but Anna cut him off.

"No, no everything's fine, I just wanted to ask you a quick favor." Anna said smiling sheepishly.

Drake looked mildly confused. "Sure, anything."

"Well, my sister has this problem. When she has too much time on her hands to think, she starts to obsess over things." Anna stated matter of fact. "She'll deny it till she dies, but I really don't want her stewing over the whole Weselton situation while Kristoff and I are gone." Anna said seriously. "Anyway, I was thinking maybe you could…" Drake cut her off.

"Be a distraction for her?" He said raising one eyebrow and smiling.

"Exactly!" Anna said louder then she meant to. She glanced around worried she had disturbed the castle at this hour.

"Don't worry, I won't leave her alone." Drake said sincerely.

"Good, and don't be afraid to be persistent. Elsa has this nasty habit of pushing people away because she thinks it's for their own good, but secretly she doesn't want to be alone. So if she pushes you away it's actually a good sign because it means she cares about you." Anna said in something that sounded like gibberish.

Drake chuckled; he didn't think he had ever heard a human talk that fast in his life.

"Oh and chocolate, she loves chocolate. You can't lose if you have chocolate. I'm pretty sure the only person who loves chocolate more than her is me." Anna said with a grin.

"Should I be taking notes?" Drake asked with a chuckle.

"Yes, yes you should. My sister is a hard nut to crack but with my help I think you just might have a shot." Anna said poking a finger at his chest.

"I would be lost without your guidance fair lady." Drake said with a slight bow of his head.

Anna chuckled. "Drake, look out for her. Really, ok?" Anna said turning on a serious face.

"I promise. I'll keep her safe, and sane." He added with a smile.

Anna reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Thank you." She said sincerely as she turned to leave.

"You two be safe alright? If anything happens to you, keeping your sister sane is not going to be an easy task." Drake said seriously.

"We will." Anna said with a smile as she turned to walk down the hallway.

She made her way back upstairs to see if Kristoff was ready.

"Kristoff?" Anna said as she opened his door. He wasn't there. He was probably down getting Sven ready for the trip, she mused.

She decided to quickly stop in Elsa's room to say goodbye, but Elsa wasn't in her room either. That was strange, Anna thought. Elsa was usually up nights so she rarely got up this early.

She decided to go down to the stables to look for Kristoff.

* * *

"Oh wow! Geeze, thank you!" Kristoff said as he hugged Elsa. "This is amazing, she's going to love it!"

"There you two are! What's going on? I was starting to get worried…" Anna said as she walked into the stables.

Kristoff quickly put his hand in his pocket. "Uh nothing we…" Kristoff started.

"Kristoff was just hooking up Sven to the sleigh, and I came down to see you off." Elsa interjected calmly, glancing at Kristoff.

Anna's eyes narrowed. "What are you two up to?" She asked suspiciously.

Kristoff looked nervous.

"Anna, I'm just a little worried that's all. I don't really like you two going off like this right now." Elsa said earnestly.

"Well, we'll be fine, Sven will protect us. Won't you Sven?" Anna said, dropping her suspicion as she went to pet Sven.

Sven leaned his ear towards her happily as she scratched it for him.

"Besides, if the trolls have some magic that can help us out we need to know about it." Anna said seriously.

"No, I know your right. Just be careful all right. Both of you." Elsa said sternly as Kristoff got in the sleigh.

"We will boss." He said saluting towards Elsa.

Anna walked over and grabbed Elsa's hands. "You'll be ok while were gone?" She asked.

"Don't worry about me right now. Just be careful and have a good time." Elsa said with a smile.

Anna narrowed her eyes. "No thinking and no obsessing while I'm gone."

"What? I don't obsess…" Elsa started.

"Ah! I have ways of knowing." Anna said cutting her off. "I have eyes _everywhere_." She said exaggerating the word everywhere.

"Anna that's creepy." Kristoff said from the sleigh.

"Alright no obsessing." Elsa said with a chuckle.

"Perhaps you could take this opportunity to, I don't know, better acquaint yourself with Lord Drake?" Anna said innocently. "And his rather nice physique." She said under her breath as she coughed.

"Anna!" Elsa said with a look of disbelief.

"What? I'm just saying, the man is well endowed." Anna said holding up her hands defensively.

"Ok, I'm gagging over here can you two please discuss this at a later time. Preferably when I'm not present?" Kristoff said with a tone of disgust.

"Alright, please be careful." Elsa said seriously as she pulled Anna into a hug.

"I love you." Anna said.

"I love you too." Elsa responded, as she rubbed Anna's back.

Elsa released her and Anna got into the sleigh with Kristoff.

"Take care of her Kristoff." Elsa said directly. "And good luck." She added with a smile, looking directly at Kristoff.

He smiled back at her as Sven pulled them off into the darkness.

Elsa stood there and watched them go until she lost sight of them.

She glanced around. If she left now, she could make it up the north mountain and back by nightfall if she moved quickly.

She went over to the horse section of the stable and walked up to her white mare.

"Hi Crystal. Hey girl." Elsa said, stroking the horse's nose.

She had ridden Crystal since they got her when Elsa was a teenager. Her father had bought her as a pony and Elsa had named her. She used to come out and ride her when she would have her panic attacks. Riding Crystal had somehow always helped calm her down, and would help her focus enough to get her powers and her panic under control.

When she got a little older and had started having panic attacks more frequently, she began taking Crystal out at night. They would go up into the woods and Elsa would let her powers go. Crystal loved it, and they would ride around in the snow, exploring anything and everything until the Sun would come up and melt her ice. She was free when she was with Crystal.

Other then her parents, Crystal was the only one who she had been able to share her powers with for all those years.

"What would I have done without you, huh?" Elsa said as she materialized a handful of snow that Crystal began to immediately lick up.

"Are you ready to go for a little ride like old times?" Elsa asked as she stroked Crystal's head.

The horse neighed happily as Elsa unlocked her stall and began leading her out.

As she turned around with Crystal she saw Drake leaning against a wood post with his arms folded.

"You weren't thinking of ditching me now were you?" Drake asked raising one eyebrow.

"How long were you standing there? You could make a noise you know..." Elsa said putting a hand on her heart.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you, your just... You're a fascinating person to watch." He said sincerely.

"Queens I've met don't usually tend to horses. Then again, you're not like any Queen I've ever met before." He said with a smile.

"Crystal's special." Elsa said as she stroked her long mane.

"So it would seem. So which horse do I get?" Drake asked with a tone of excitement.

"Why don't you take Mucker over there." She said with a chuckle as she gestured to a brown horse a few stalls down.

"Why's he called Mucker?" Drake asked.

"You'll find out." Elsa said with a smirk. "Besides, he's the only one who can keep up with Crystal here."

"Well then I guess that's my boy." Drake said cheerfully as he walked over to bridle Mucker.

Elsa mounted Crystal and waited for Drake to join her. He was exceptionally good with horses, she noted. Some people treated them like mindless, unfeeling beasts that were put here for the sole purpose of being used. She never had a tolerance for that. Crystal was as much a living, thinking, feeling being as she was as far as she was concerned. She was glad Drake seemed to appreciate horses as well.

"Are you ready?" Elsa asked as he trotted over.

"I hope so." He answered as she took off out of the stable. He gave Mucker a quick kick and was off into the darkness after her.


	12. Fracture

**Chapter 11: Fracture**

* * *

"Ugh… What do you feed this guy?" Drake asked as he scrunched up his nose and stood up in the stirrups.

Elsa chuckled. This was the second time they had to slow to a walk because Mucker had to take care of business. Maybe putting Drake on Mucker wasn't the best idea after all, she thought. Then again, watching the whole amusing scenario take place made it worth the delay.

"I'm sorry…" Elsa said through a chuckle. "Poor Mucker, I think he just gets nervous and then well…" Elsa said as she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Yeah poor Mucker…" Drake said sarcastically as he bent his head around to see if Mucker was through. "I think we're good, but lets stay at a walk for a bit in case he has any last urges…"

Elsa chuckled as they began to walk through the moonlit snow.

Drake recognized that far away look starting to take Elsa over and he remembered his promise to Anna. This would be a perfect opportunity to fracture some of those ice barriers she kept so carefully in place.

"So what about Crystal over there? She seems very special to you." He asked.

"She is." Elsa said as she patted Crystal's neck. "My father got her when she was just a foal, I was about thirteen then I think."

Drake stayed silent waiting for her to continue.

Elsa paused for a minute. She was so used to concealing her true feelings and thoughts that it felt strange to be venturing into these personal subjects, at least with anyone who wasn't Anna. But, Anna had told her to stop shutting out the people who were trying to help her, and she had to admit, although she couldn't place it, something about Drake made her feel like she could tell him anything.

Elsa stroked Crystal's mane before continuing.

"She was really fearful when we got her, she would shake all the time and wouldn't let anyone get near enough to even touch her. It was like, the whole world just seemed so overwhelming to her. For a while she was so anxious that she wouldn't even eat and they thought she wasn't going to make it…" Elsa said sadly.

"I don't know, I just felt so bad for her. I think a part of me really understood her level of fear, not wanting to touch or be touched by anyone out of sheer fear and just feeling completely overwhelmed." Elsa paused, sure that she was beginning to bore him.

He sensed her hesitation and decided to take Anna's advice and be persistent.

"Please continue, I must know how two fearful little ones turned into the elegant sight I'm looking at now." Drake said with a smile.

Elsa smiled back at him and took a deep breath.

"I… Well, I used to get these panic attacks, quite frequently. They would come when I was overwhelmed or scared or felt confined and sometimes they would come for no reason at all. It felt like, my fears were consuming me and I would never be happy again. It was as if someone was standing on my chest… I would shake, I couldn't eat, it felt like I couldn't breathe and I would have very little control over my powers during these episodes. Anyway, one night during one of my attacks I found myself out in the stables. I walked over by Crystal's stall and, as I watched her, I suddenly realized that she and I weren't any different; we were both just unable to control our fears. I decided right then and there that even if I couldn't handle my own problems, I would find a way to help Crystal get past hers. So every night, I would go out there and talk to her about everything. I quickly discovered that she loves apples, even when frightened she couldn't turn those down." Elsa said with a smile.

"After seeing me night after night she eventually warmed up enough to let me brush and pet her. After the apples, she started eating again and I guess the rest is history. She's still somewhat reluctant to let anyone else ride her, but she's completely different from when we first got her." Elsa said with a look of pride.

"The funny part is, the more I worked with and made progress with her the less frequently I got the panic attacks."

The sun was just starting to rise and Drake couldn't help but stare at how beautiful it made her look. It refracted off of her hair and dress like it would if it passed through a crystal, making her sparkle like a rainbow. Somehow the more he found out about her, the more beautiful she became to him. He didn't understand that and he didn't care to. She was like a complicated puzzle, the more he figured out the more alluring it became to figure out more.

"After I lost my parents, I started getting the attacks more frequently again. They would mostly come on at night, when my mind would have time to run away with itself I guess. That's when I started to take her out for rides at night. We would go riding in the woods and I would be able to just let go of everything and be free for a little while." Elsa said with a sigh.

Drake stayed silent for a minute, trying to find the right words to express his esteem.

"That's truly amazing. It sounds like she's helped you as much as you've helped her." Drake said with sincerity. "Horses are amazing creatures the way they have the ability to understand us like that, I can see why she's so special to you."

He paused momentarily.

"I, well, I've never known anyone like you Elsa. The things you do, the things you've been through… You inspire me, truly." Drake said as he made eye contact with her intelligent blue eyes.

She smiled at him and had to practically rip her gaze away from his. He didn't know the half of what she's done. She wasn't sure she'd still be so inspiring to him if he knew everything.

"Mucker… Ugh not again…" Drake said as Mucker began to quiver underneath him.

"Wait." Elsa said putting a hand up to stop Drake. "Something's not right." She said as Crystal stopped dead in her tracks.

"We need to get out of…" Elsa was cut off abruptly as a wolf jumped out of the trees and latched on to her dress and cape, pulling her off of Crystal.

Crystal reared and neighed in distress as the wolf dragged Elsa off of her.

"Oh God, Elsa!" Drake shouted as he jumped down from Mucker, pulling out his sword.

"Oomph." Elsa grunted as she hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She was momentarily disoriented, until she realized that the wolf still had grasp on her cape and was furiously trying to drag her into the trees. She yelled in frustration as she shot icy blasts to either side of her. The way the wolf had a hold on her she couldn't get a direct shot at it.

The snow began swirling around her and the wolf. Before Drake could get close enough he heard her yell out in pain, through the swirling snow he could see that the wolf had latched on to her right arm.

"Ahhhh!" Drake yelled as he slashed the wolf with his sword, causing it to recoil in pain. It released her and went scampering back into the trees.

"Oh my God." Drake said as he dropped to his knee next to where she lay. There was blood all around her in the snow.

"Elsa, are you ok?" He asked with an undertone of panic as he put a hand under her head.

She winced in pain, but slowly started to sit up. He put his arm around her back and helped her the rest of the way.

"I think so." Elsa said as she looked at her bleeding arm. "I don't think it's very deep."

"Thank God." Drake said with a sigh. "Here, let me…" He trailed off as he glanced around.

"Elsa, I think we need to get out of here." Drake said cautiously. "Can you ride?" He asked as he helped her to her feet. She glanced around understanding his urgency. In the trees she could just make out the glint of two dozen or so wolf eyes peering at them in the eerie reddish light of the dawn.

"Lets go." She stated as she began to pull herself up onto Crystal. He boosted her the rest of the way so she wouldn't put any strain on her arm. He jumped onto Mucker and they were off at a dead sprint.

The second they took off the pack of wolves emerged from the trees and began to chase after the two horses.

"Drake there's a cliff we can jump over this way, well lose the wolves if we jump it!" Elsa yelled.

He nodded and motioned for her to take the lead. Crystal was fast he had to admit, but Mucker was doing a pretty decent job of keeping up with her.

He glanced back and saw that they were putting some distance between themselves and the wolves, but she was right, they needed to jump the gap to lose them for good. He said a silent prayer that Mucker wouldn't abruptly stop and start doing his business.

"C'mon Mucker old boy, don't fail me now." Drake said as he continued to push Mucker to keep up with Crystal.

Elsa looked back and pointed up ahead showing him where the cliff was. He nodded in response. He glanced back one final time before the jump, only to discover that he couldn't see the wolves chasing them anymore. He sighed in relief.

They approached the chasm and Crystal made the jump with ease, landing safely with Elsa atop her.

Once Elsa landed she glanced back to see if Drake had made it, only to find that Mucker had stopped dead in his tracks on the other side of the gap. Drake was kicking his sides trying to get him to back up to try the jump again, but it was no use, Mucker was nervously shaking and wouldn't budge.

"Oh no…" Elsa said in horror as she got off Crystal. Behind Drake, the pack of wolves began to slowly emerge out of the trees again and we're heading towards Drake and Mucker.

Drake glanced around and saw the wolves approaching and reflexively unsheathed his sword.

"Drake, listen to me. I'm going to try and hold them off, I need you to try and get Mucker to jump again!" Elsa called.

"Ok." Drake called back with an undertone of panic as the wolves began snarling and circling him.

One lunged up to try and grab his leg but as quickly as it jumped it was frozen mid air. The ice crawled all the way up to its neck. It's unfrozen head still spat and snarled at him from where it was just feet away.

"C'mon Mucker please!" Drake said in desperation as he kicked Mucker's sides. The horse was still frozen in fear and wouldn't budge.

Another wolf to Drake's right turned into a frozen statue as it went for him. Another tried to lunge at him from the left and he quickly cut it down with his sword. One after another more wolves turned into frozen statues and he continued to cut down the ones that got past Elsa. But more and more kept emerging from the trees, he quickly realized they were fighting a losing battle.

Elsa came to the same realization. She couldn't keep this up much longer, it was very difficult to precisely freeze these wolves from this distance without accidentally hitting Drake or Mucker. She could also see that he was making no progress with Mucker either. She silently cursed herself again for choosing that horse.

"Drake, I'm going to create a bridge for Mucker to walk over ok? I'll keep the wolves away from you while you cross!" Elsa yelled as she froze a wolf.

"Elsa no, the wolves will cross then too!" He yelled as he cut down yet another wolf.

"I'm not leaving you over there with them! I'll keep them away from you, just do as I say!" Elsa yelled.

She stomped her foot and used her hands to push out an icy pathway that ended directly at Mucker's hooves.

As soon as the horse saw the escape path he took off at a sprint over the gap. The wolves suddenly realized what was happening and took off over the bridge after Mucker and Drake.

Drake decided it was best not to look down into the snowy chasm below and prayed that Mucker wouldn't slip on the icy path.

"Come on, just a little further." Elsa said to herself as she watched Drake nearing the end of the bridge.

As soon as they were across she brought both her arms together and shot her hands up towards the sky, erecting an icy wall on the bridge where Drake and Mucker had just crossed. The wolves tried to stop on the ice, but most of them slid and went crashing into the ice barrier Elsa had just created. Some slipped off the side of the bridge, and the rest who recovered began pacing back and forth at the wall.

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief.

Drake jumped down from Mucker and ran over to her.

"Are you ok?" Elsa asked as Drake pulled her into a hug.

Elsa realized it didn't feel strange to be this close to him, it felt good in fact. He was so warm and she felt safe wrapped in his huge arms.

"Yes, thanks to you." If he could have it his way he would never let go of her again, he thought with a smile. He pulled away just enough so he could look at her, keeping hold on her shoulders. "See, I told you we should stick together." He said with a warm smile.

Elsa looked up at him and smiled, then winced slightly. He glanced down and saw that her upper arm was still bleeding profusely. He looked back at her face and noticed how pale she looked, and her eyes looked like she hadn't slept in weeks.

"Elsa?" Drake asked in alarm as she swayed slightly in his grasp. He quickly steadied her.

"I'm fine, I just need to sit for a minute. I'm a little light headed." She said, sounding drained.

"It's because your losing blood. Sit over here, while I find something to stop the bleeding." He said as he guided her over to a rock.

He returned with a long strip of cloth he had found in the saddlebag. "This should work." He said as he knelt down next to her.

He gently grabbed her forearm and stretched it out so he could begin wrapping her upper arm.

"I guess I'm going to have to have Crystal teach Mucker a lesson after that little performance." Elsa said with tired eyes as she smiled slightly.

"By all means tell her to let him have it." Drake said with a chuckle. "Alright all done. I think that should keep until we get back. Do you want to turn back now?"

"No, absolutely not. We're not that far actually and we really need to see if we can spot any ships." Elsa said sounding more alert.

"Ok then, so long as you're up for it. I say we stay here just a while longer though so you can catch your breath." Drake said as he took a seat next to her on the rock. He positioned himself slightly behind her so she could lean on him.

"For a minute." Elsa said as she let herself lean into his warmth.

He wrapped his arm around her to keep her warm. "Are you cold? Do you want me to get a cloak out of the bag?" He asked suddenly realizing she was only wearing her dress and cape.

"No, thank you. I, well, I don't really get cold if you want to know the truth. I mean, I feel warmth but the cold never seems to bother me." Elsa said matter of fact. "Actually I do like the way warmth feels though. I only really feel it when I use my gift to thaw ice or when I touch something that's warm. Otherwise I'm always cold."

"Well I'm glad you like the feeling of warmth." He said as he gently pulled her closer to him.

Elsa smiled. Her eyes and body felt so heavy. She had barely gotten any sleep the past few days and it was starting to catch up with her. She would only rest a moment then they would be on their way, she thought. Maybe Anna was right; opening up to someone wasn't as disastrous as she had made it out to be. Then again, Anna had been right about everything as of late. She let herself lean into Drake's warmth as she drifted off to sleep.


	13. Firn

**Chapter 12: Firn**

* * *

"Are you ok?" Kristoff asked as Sven continued to pull their sleigh through the woods.

"Hm?" Anna responded still lost in thought.

"You seem like you're somewhere else, what's on your mind?" He asked sounding concerned.

"I don't know, I just have this really bad feeling. I hope my sister is ok." Anna said with an undertone of worry.

"I'm sure she's fine. Especially since you recruited a keeper for her." Kristoff said raising one eyebrow.

"What? How did you know about that?" Anna asked with a look of surprise.

Kristoff laughed. "I just know you. I'm glad you did to be honest, I think Drake is an ok guy. That, and I don't have to worry about you obsessing over her safety this whole trip." Kristoff said with a smirk. He knew he had pushed a button.

"What? I don't obsess!" Anna said as she folded her arms in defiance.

"Your not as dissimilar to your sister as you might think." Kristoff said raising one eyebrow.

Anna pursed her lips. "_I_ worry. _Elsa_ obsesses." Anna said stubbornly.

"Ok." Kristoff said stifling a smile.

The wind began to pick up as they continued to ascend the snowy mountain.

"Brrr it's colder then I thought it would be up here at this time of year." Anna said with a shiver.

"I think there should be an extra blanket in the back." Kristoff said as he took one hand off the reigns to gesture behind him.

Anna turned around and began rummaging through the bags in the rear of the sleigh.

"Hm, what's this?" She asked curiously. Under the bags lay a very nice looking folded cloak with a box on top wrapped together with string.

She pulled the package out and returned to her seat next to Kristoff.

"Wha…" Anna smiled. She recognized the elegant fur cloak as one of Elsa's. Attached to the box a note read, '_Stay warm. Love E_.'

"What is it?" Kristoff asked, glancing over to look at the package.

"My sister." Anna said as she unbound the cloak. She held it up so Kristoff could see it.

Kristoff whistled. "Man, your sister doesn't do anything without the flare of elegance does she." He said as he marveled at the long, white fur cloak.

"Nope." Anna said smiling, as she wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and pulled it close. It smelled like Elsa.

"What's in the box?" Kristoff asked.

Anna pulled the lid off the box and squealed, causing Kristoff to jump slightly in alarm.

"Chocolate!" She shouted as she stuffed a piece in her mouth. "Ou can hab one piece." Anna said through a mouthful of chocolate.

"No thanks, it's all yours." Kristoff said with a chuckle.

"Your lucky you have a sister that watches out for you like Elsa does. I love the trolls and Sven don't get me wrong, but when I was a kid I always secretly wished I had an older brother to do stuff with." Kristoff stated.

Anna glanced down with a sad look in her eyes.

"Yeah, we're really lucky to have each other now, but I hate how many years we lost growing up." She said with a sigh.

"I mean, I know our parents did what they thought they had to do, but it nearly ended up killing the both of us. I grew up alone, talking to ridiculous paintings, and she practically grew up in solitary confinement." Anna said, starting to get mildly aggravated.

"I, well we both loved our parents dearly please don't misunderstand me, but I just feel like if they had just given us a chance, things might have turned out differently. In fact I'm sure they would have. Elsa and I would have been able to figure out the triggers to her powers long ago and none of this would have ever happened." Anna said, letting her hands drop with frustration in her lap.

"I, I needed my sister all those years and she needed me. Our parents just left us both flapping in the wind here." She said, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath.

"I don't mean to be this way, but since last summer, I just get so mad at them sometimes." Anna finished quietly.

Kristoff hated seeing her like this. But a part of him agreed with her. Their parents may have been doing what they thought was best for the girls, but ultimately he didn't think they had handled the situation correctly at all.

"You have a right to be mad at them you know. I don't even remember my parents, but I used to be so mad at them when I was a kid. Well, not so much mad at them, but mad at their absence. I never knew what happened to them, if they died, or abandoned me I just never knew, and I would get crazy mad speculating about it. It wasn't until I got older that I realized I was only hurting myself by hanging on to that anger and I let it go." Kristoff said, trying to comfort her.

Anna stayed silent for a long minute before nodding slightly. She knew he was right, but she also knew she wasn't going to be able to let go of that anger so easily.

"She used to do stuff like this when we we're growing up you know." Anna said sadly as she continued to stare ahead.

"What do you mean?" Kristoff asked.

"Like the cloak. I would find stuff like that from her occasionally. Like hot chocolate and cookies in my room when I would come in from playing in the snow. Or little presents on my birthday… She always left a note so I knew it was her." Anna trailed off as tears started to form again. She composed herself before starting again.

"It, it was her way of showing me she was still there for me. I never understood at the time why she would do that and not just let me in… But now that I understand… It was the only way she was able to look out for me, the way things were." Anna said as she looked away from Kristoff, her voice choking off. This was supposed to be a fun trip; she didn't want him to see her cry. She wished she hadn't gotten on this topic in the first place.

Kristoff reached over and pulled her into him.

"Hey, try not to think about it too much. You have her back now and that's all that matters." Kristoff said into her hair as she cried silently into his jacket.

The sun had been up for a while, but the sky was still a beautiful orange and purple.

"Hey babe, cheer up look. The sky's awake." Kristoff said.

That caused Anna to smile. "You starting to steal my lingo now?" She asked as she looked up at the morning sky.

"Only so I can claim it as my own and add it to my sophisticated verbal repertoire." He said sarcastically.

Anna sniggered. "Sophisticated verbal whatsy? Where do you come up with this stuff?" She asked with amused disbelief, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Kristoff sighed. "I extract it from my sophisticated verbal…"

"Repertoire." Anna said flatly, finishing his sentence while rolling her eyes.

"Exactly." Kristoff said with a proud smile.

Anna smiled and shook her head in return; he always knew exactly what was wrong with her, and exactly how to fix it.

"Well what about my sophisticated kissing repertoire?" She asked with a smirk as she leaned up to kiss him passionately.

Kristoff was caught off guard. When she pulled away he looked wide-eyed like he didn't know what had just hit him.

Anna laughed.

"I like that better then my verbal repertoire." Kristoff said as he recovered. "Much better." He added slyly, leaning over and pulling her into another kiss.

The sleigh coming to halt forced them to break apart.

"Looks like were hiking it from here." Kristoff said as he gestured to where the snow ended and turned into firn.

The trolls lived in a rocky valley up in the mountains that were filled with hot geysers that steamed up from the ground. Snow didn't even stick the previous summer when Elsa had had her episode.

"How is it still so cold up here when there's no snow?" Anna asked curiously as she pulled Elsa's cloak tighter around her shoulders.

"It's usually like this because were so high up I think. The geysers don't really seem to keep anything that much warmer, they just melt the snow." Kristoff said offhandedly as he unhitched Sven from the sleigh. "That's why Gran Pabbie uses those fire crystals for warmth when it gets really cold."

"Well let's hope he has something in his arsenal that can help us out with Weselton." Anna said seriously. If they had the troll's magic, and Elsa's magic on their side, she would definitely sleep better at night.

"Whoop!" Anna exclaimed as Kristoff picked her up bridal style.

"Humor me." He said with a smile as he mounted Sven with her in his arms. "I rather enjoy traveling this way."

"No complaints here." She said as she hooked her arm over his neck.

"Lets go buddy!" Kristoff said as Sven took off with them down into the rocky valley below.

After descending for a while, Anna began to make out the circular valley coming into view, filled with what looked to be many boulders of assorted sizes littered over the ground. She smiled at herself as she remembered how she thought Kristoff was crazy when he first brought her here. To anyone who didn't know better, the trolls just looked like different sized boulders. It wasn't until they decided to show themselves that they could be recognized as trolls.

"I'm glad I don't think your nuts this time babe." Anna said as she patted Kristoff's chest.

He laughed. "Your face was priceless when you thought I was talking to rocks though."

Anna laughed and shook her head.

"What is that?" She asked in confusion as she pointed to the center of the valley.

Something large and gleaming was sitting square in the center of the troll's valley. She squinted as they approached closer.

Kristoff smiled. "Why don't you go see?" He said as they dismounted Sven.

"Woah…" Anna said in awe as she walked into the center of the valley. Standing tall in front of her was an enormous ice sculpture. It looked like two swans facing each other with their necks intertwined. Their wings were spread out gracefully behind them like they were taking off in flight. It was one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen.

"Kristoff… Did you _make_ this?" Anna asked incredulously as she walked up to touch the ice.

"Yeah, I mean well, mostly. I carved most of it. Your sister helped me out a little." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"It's so beautiful." She said still awestruck.

Kristoff walked over to her and took her hands in his. "Just like you." He said with a smile. "I made it for you, er well for us." He said blushing.

"Anna, I'm in love with you. I'm pretty sure I have been ever since you threw that bag of carrots at my face." He said sincerely.

Anna's face flushed red. "Heh.. Sorry about that." She said sheepishly.

He smiled. "Anna, I would rather have you whip a thousand carrot bags at my head for the rest of forever then live without you."

She smiled up at him.

Kristoff brushed a stray stand of hair out of her face.

"I just, I love everything about you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Er, well what I mean is…" He took a deep breath. "Will you marry me?" He said as he dropped to one knee and produced a beautiful silver ring, set with a small emerald stone.

Anna threw a hand up over her mouth. "Oh my god Kristoff, its beautiful!" She said in amazement.

"It, it was one of your mother's rings. Not her wedding ring, obviously, but one of hers… Your sister gave it to me." He said, still holding the ring out nervously.

Anna dropped to her knees so she was level with him. "I would marry you a thousand times over if I could." She said as she leaned over and kissed him.

A large smile spread across his face as he then grabbed her and kissed her deeply in return.

"I couldn't hear!" A voice shouted out.

"What did she say?" Another voice called out.

"Yes! She said yes!" Several more voices chimed in.

"She said yes!" Nearly all the trolls shouted in unison as they popped open from their stationary rock like positions they were previously in.

Anna looked around and smiled as she saw the entirety of the troll clan surrounding her and Kristoff.

Kristoff smacked his forehead. "Guys… You weren't supposed to say anything! Just, just shut up and do the thing, please!" He said sounding embarrassed.

"Oh right!"

"The thing!"

"The thing!"

"The thing!" Several disembodied troll voices shouted out.

Kristoff wiped a hand down the front of his face.

Suddenly all the trolls began to hum. They then started moving in several large circles around Anna and Kristoff. The largest ring of trolls moved in one direction, the next ring in moved in the other direction and so on, creating a mesmerizing kaleidoscope effect that surrounded Anna and Kristoff.

Anna stared in amazement as each ring of trolls produced different colored crystals, which made the moving circles of trolls light up, creating the most beautiful display of lights she had ever seen.

"I love you." Kristoff said as he slipped the ring on her finger.

"I love you too." Anna said as she threw her arms around him, kissing him again.

Kristoff's eyes suddenly went wide and he sucked in a painful breath.

"Kristoff?" Anna asked in alarm. "Kristoff what's the matter!" She asked as he staggered a step backward.

As he staggered, she could see the arrow that was sticking out of his back.

"Kristoff!" Anna yelled as she rushed forward to grab him as he slumped to the ground.

"Oh my god, Kristoff! You'll be ok just hang on." Anna said desperately as she held Kristoff on his side so the arrow wouldn't go in further.

"What…?" She whispered in horror as she glanced around.

She could suddenly make out the forms of many huge, hulking men emerging from the surrounding trees and boulders.

The trolls quickly rolled into their stationary rock forms as a large burly man with a red beard began to walk towards the center of the valley.

Anna cradled Kristoff's head protectively as the man approached her.

She had never seen a more intimidating looking individual in her life. This man had unnaturally large muscles. He wore a sleeveless fur vest, which exposed the many tattoos that littered his giant arms. He had several weapons Anna had never even seen before strung on his belt and his face looked hateful. He had some kind of tribal tattoo marked around one eye and several piercings in his ears. His reddish hair was completely buzzed except for the top of his head and the hair that was left on top of his head was pulled back into a single scraggly braid that fell behind him. But it was his eyes that scared her the most. His eyes were nearly black and she could see the cold, calculating, intelligent nature they beheld.

He stopped a few feet in front of her, looking down at her and Kristoff.

"Hello lass." He said, smiling heinously. He then furrowed his brow as if he had just made a brilliant discovery.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle." He said with a self-satisfying grin. "You just made my life a whole lot easier."


	14. Shattered

**Chapter 12: Shattered**

* * *

"Elsa. Elsa wake up." Drake said anxiously as he shook her gently. Snow was beginning to swirl around them and Elsa was fidgeting restlessly in her sleep.

"Elsa!" Drake said louder.

Elsa sat bolt upright breathing heavily and glancing around. Once she got her bearings she quickly calmed down, as did the swirling snow. She slumped over putting a hand on her forehead and resting her elbow on her knee.

"Are you alright? You were having a nightmare." Drake said with a look of concern as he gently put a hand on her back.

Elsa took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I get those sometimes, I hope I didn't startle you."

"No, no it's just, you seemed very distressed and you kept saying Anna's name."

Elsa shuddered at the memory of her nightmare. "It was just so vivid. These savage men had my sister captive and there was nothing I could do…" She trailed off. "Oh God, I didn't hurt you did I?" She asked with a tone of alarm as she glanced down and saw that the rock they were sitting on had been completely iced over.

She quickly stood up and moved away from Drake. The sudden movement caused her head to spin and she lurched to one side.

"Whoah." Drake said as he quickly sprang up to catch her from falling.

"Elsa, I'm fine, just settle down ok." He said reassuringly as he kept hold of her shoulders, careful not to grab her wound.

She closed her eyes and nodded as she waited for all the blood to rush back to her head.

"Just breathe. That's it, relax." He said softly.

She did as he said and let the warmth from his hands radiate through her. Finally the dizzy sensation began to subside.

"Better?" He asked with smile.

Elsa opened her eyes to see his kind grey eyes looking back at her.

"Yes, thank you." She said sincerely.

Her face looked less pale, but she still had dark circles under her eyes, he noted. "How's your arm feeling?"

"Its alright I think, just a little stiff." She said as she flexed it out.

Drake could see that blood was starting to seep through the cloth as she moved it. He started to suspect that the wound wasn't as shallow as she made it out to be.

"Let's get going, we've already lost enough time. We shouldn't be gone any longer then necessary." Elsa stated as she pulled away from his grasp and started to walk over to Crystal.

"Elsa, you're still bleeding. I think we need to have your arm properly looked at."

"We will, I mean, I will." Elsa said wincing, as she pulled herself up onto Crystal.

She could see the genuine look of concern he had for her and it touched her. Not many people had ever looked at her like that before. People either fawned over her with syrupy superficiality or she would receive distasteful scowls and gossipy glares. Neither was particularly pleasant, and she had learned to become mostly desensitized to it. Even before people knew about her powers they rarely looked at her like a human being. She was some kind of object to them, an untouchable figurehead that they could discuss and gossip about who had no feelings of her own. Then, here was Drake, mystifying her yet again. He was some rare conundrum, like a four leaf clover in a sea of regular clovers. Something that is so special you want to savor its rare beauty forever.

She clenched her jaw; this was not the time to let her feelings get in the way. Wound or no wound, Drake or no Drake, she was still the Queen, and she had a responsibility to protect her people. If that meant putting Arendelle's well being above her own, she knew she would choose that option every time regardless of what people thought of her.

"I'll get it looked at as soon as we get back." She stated. "I promise." She added with a smile, letting him know she appreciated the sentiment.

"You know, when it comes to your own well being you're quite a stubborn woman to reason with." Drake said raising an eyebrow as he mounted Mucker.

"Then maybe you should learn not to argue with the Queen." Elsa said playfully as she arched an eyebrow back at him.

Drake decided to play her little game. "When the Queen takes responsibility for everyone's well being but her own, and fails to recognize what her demise would do to the people who care about her, I would be hard pressed not to put up an unflagging argument every time on that matter." He finished, as if it we're the most natural solution in the world to him.

She lifted an eyebrow and gave him that alluring half smile. He'd come to interpret these little looks of hers as concession. It was her way of letting him know he was right without telling him he was right. Or at least that she appreciated his sentiment. He smiled to himself; he never tired of figuring out how that intriguing mind of hers worked.

Elsa turned away from his gaze and shook her head slightly with a smile. Then with a kick she and Crystal were off at a run, with Drake and Mucker on their heels.

* * *

"You really weren't kidding when you said Crystal was fast." Drake said as he and Elsa slowed their horses to a walk. "She doesn't even look tired and Mucker over here looks like he's about to collapse."

"I think she's just more used to it out here. She and I used to come riding all over these parts." Elsa said as she got off Crystal and tied her to a tree.

"We're climbing from here?" Drake asked he looked up in confusion. All he could really see was a giant rocky cliff towering before them.

"We _are_ here." Elsa said matter of fact.

Drake dropped down from Mucker and walked over to tie him up.

"Elsa, there's a giant cliff right here, we wont be able to see anything without climbing it." He said puzzled.

She smiled at him. "Over this way." She said as she started to walk along the base of the cliff.

He quickly walked over to catch up with her. As they walked he could see where she was headed. A little further ahead there was a pass in between the rocks.

Elsa realized that she was mildly nervous. She had not willingly ever taken someone up here. She definitely trusted Drake, that wasn't the problem, but showing him this was almost intimate, and she was not used to intimacy on any level. This was her space, the place she ran to when she needed freedom or to just get away from the worlds problems. It was an extension of her soul in a way and she hoped beyond hope that he would not judge it, or her.

As they reached the top of the snowy path between the cliffs, Drake looked up and stopped dead in his tracks. Towering before him stood a vast, elegant castle made of ice, built into the side of the snowy mountain. He stood there with his mouth slightly agape, just staring up at the magnificent sight.

"Drake?" Elsa asked turning around to face him. He was not moving or blinking. "Drake?" Elsa asked with an undertone of alarm.

"Elsa…" Drake croaked out. "Elsa, did… Did you build this?" He asked in awe as he continued to stare up at the palace.

"Yes. I, well, it's a long story…" She said somewhat uneasy.

"It's unbelievable." He said cutting her off. He started blinking again as he came back to reality.

"Can we go in?" He asked with the excitement of a child.

His sudden shift in demeanor caused Elsa to chuckle. This childlike side of him was amusing and endearing she mused.

"Of course." She answered with a smile.

"Lead on my lady." Drake said dramatically as he bowed and stretched out an arm as if to direct her towards the castle.

Elsa smiled as she started leading him up the icy stairs.

"Whoop!" She heard him call out from behind her. She spun around to see Drake on his back at the bottom of the stairs, with his cape draped over his face.

She curled in her lips to stifle a laugh. "Are you ok?" She called down the stairs. She could hear him laughing from under his cape.

"Yeah, I must be reminded to use the railings when climbing a staircase made of ice." He laughed as he picked the cape off his face and stood up.

They finally made it up the stairs successfully. Elsa held up her hand and with a wave, the icy doors began to open with a loud stony echo.

They walked in and stopped near the center of the room. Drake was looking around like a child in a candy store.

"Elsa, I just, wow. I mean, knowing you this place really shouldn't surprise me, but actually being in here… It's just amazing." He managed to get out as he ventured toward the frozen fountain. He walked slowly around it, putting his face up close to some of the smaller crystals and poking them with a finger.

Elsa watched in amusement as he walked around the room, studying every inch of it.

He suddenly jumped behind a wall of ice and made a ridiculous face. Elsa burst out into laughter as the icy wall distorted his already goofy face.

"How do I look?" He said playfully, as he made various different silly faces.

"Oh, you're the epitome of maturity." Elsa said sarcastically as she laughed.

"Hm, you know, you could use some furniture though. How do you properly entertain guests like myself without furniture?" He said in jest as he walked out from behind the ice wall.

"Yes, I see what you mean. I suppose your right." Elsa said with a smirk.

She then raised both her hands erecting an ice chair under Drake that knocked him off his feet. He laughed when he realized what she'd done.

"You're absolutely right that's much better." She said with a laugh.

Drake smiled to himself. He loved these moments when there was a chink in her armor and he caught a glimpse of the real girl inside of Elsa.

"You know, you have such a pretty laugh. I wish I could hear it more." Drake said sincerely.

Elsa's laughter died out and she glanced down at her hands. "I guess, I guess I just never have much to laugh about." She said seriously, realizing that she really didn't laugh a whole lot. "Until recently that is, thanks to you." She said with a smirk.

"Well you should definitely try it more, it suits you." He said with a smile as he got up from the chair.

"So what's up there?" He asked as he gestured towards the long staircase that led to the upper level.

"That, is where were going to get the best view. Lets go up." She said, gesturing for him to follow.

He followed her up the stairs, making sure to keep hold of the railings. He was still not quite over the intricate detail that he observed. Everything, from the tiny to the large looked like it incorporated geometric patterns that resembled flowers. It was fascinating.

When they reached the top Elsa quickly realized in horror that it still looked like a warzone up here. She had never had the motivation to repair the room since she was attacked the previous summer. The door to the balcony was gone and the room itself still had large jagged ice that shot up from the floor at odd angles in places. The broken chandelier still lay shattered, she had only swept it to one side of the room.

"Well this is certainly the most liberal take on furniture I've ever seen." Drake said in jest.

Elsa chuckled nervously. "Yes, well this, this wasn't supposed to happen." She said, as she gestured to the mangled ice. She silently cursed herself for not repairing the room when she'd had the chance. "It's a long story."

"I just so happen to love long stories." Drake said with a smile.

Elsa took a deep breath. He'd hear this from someone eventually; it might as well be her. "Well, last summer when I… You know, the blizzard." She said as she started to pace. "I was attacked, in here, and all this is the remaining debris."

"Wait, you were attacked? By who?" Drake asked incredulously.

"By Weselton mostly. The Duke had two of his men chase me up here and…" She trailed off. She hated thinking about that time last summer. Everything about it made her shudder.

"Elsa, what happened?" Drake said seriously as he walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

She turned to face him and took another deep breath. "They chased me up here and tried to shoot me with crossbows. I, I was mostly defending, I didn't want to hurt them." She said almost pleadingly. She could feel a lump in her throat beginning to form as the memories flooded back. She turned away; she did not want him to see her break down.

"They got a shot off at me and I blocked it with ice. Then, when they lined up to shoot again, well, I didn't know what to do so I fought back. I pinned one of them to the wall." She gestured to the wall with icicle spikes near it. "And the other I nearly pushed off the balcony…" She said as her voice choked off. She hated reliving the hatred she felt. If Hans hadn't stopped her she might have pushed that guard over the edge. That was the only decent thing that man had done for her.

"I was stopped by a man who I thought I trusted. I guess once I let up, one of the Duke's men tried to shoot me again. Hans, the man I mentioned, redirected his arrow up at the chandelier and it fell." She finished, the tears starting to spill down her face.

"It fell… On you?" Drake asked incredulously, putting the pieces together.

"No, I mean, not directly. I tried to run out of the way of it but I fell on the shattered pieces and hit my head which caused me to lose consciousness."

Drake could feel the rage burning inside of him. How dare they do this to her. All of it, the attack in here and the agony they were causing her by attacking Arendelle. He knew he would kill any one of them in a second for putting her through this. He took a deep calming breath, he could sense that getting upset over this wasn't what she needed right now.

"Elsa, I'm… I'm so sorry. I could kill them for doing this to you." He said softly as he turned her around and pulled her into a hug.

She couldn't control it anymore and cried silently into his chest. She had been keeping this in for so long that it was almost a relief to tell him. She hadn't even told Anna the whole story of the attack; there was no point, it would only have succeeded in making her angry. She hated being this vulnerable but somehow she just knew she could trust him.

"I try Drake, I really do, to do things right. But they always get messed up and I just, I have no idea if I'm going to be able to keep Arendelle safe." Elsa confessed in a desperate almost angry tone.

He held her close, trying to will all the pain out of her.

"I won't let anything happen to you, or to Arendelle I swear." He said sincerely. "I know this all seems scary now but you'll be fine, I promise."

Elsa broke away from his grasp.

"Wait, what did you say?" She asked, sounding shocked.

He smiled at her. "It was something a brave little girl once said to me."

She stared at him for a long minute in silence. Suddenly her eyes went wide and she threw a hand up over her mouth.

"Lucas?" She asked aghast.

He nodded as he gently took hold of her shoulders. "I guess I never mentioned Drake is my middle name." He said with a warm smile.

She stood there in disbelief. "Oh my God… I'm, I'm so sorry, how could I not have known… Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, you had a lot going on, and I guess I hoped maybe you would come to it in your own time… And you have." He said, smiling down at her as he brushed a tear off of her face.

"Drake, I'm so sorry…" She whispered.

He moved one hand down to her waist, stepping closer to her so they were touching. He placed his other hand on the side of her face, losing himself in her deep sky blue eyes.

She made no motion of protest.

He took this as a good sign and, moving his hand to her lower back, pulled her even closer and slowly leaned down and kissed her.

He could feel his chest roaring with victory. The feeling of kissing her was indescribable. He hadn't realized how long he had longed for this one moment with her and couldn't believe how amazing it felt to finally have it. It was as if he was moving in slow motion again, and nothing in the world mattered except her.

Elsa had seen the kiss coming, but had made no move to stop him. Her mind briefly thought about it, but her body wouldn't let her protest. She was glad it hadn't. His kiss was so gentle and warm, she couldn't remember ever being this warm in her life. His warmth felt so good. She lost herself in it, letting it spread all over her body and allowing it to dissolve all her fears and problems. For the first time in her life, she didn't think she could call up her ice power if she wanted to. She tried to reach for it, only to discover that she couldn't find it, and she didn't care that she couldn't.

They broke apart, catching their breath.

He waited, gazing into her eyes to gauge her reaction.

She looked up into his soft eyes and decided that she wasn't quite ready to relinquish his warmth yet, so she reached up and put her arms around his neck.

He quickly took her cue and leaned in for another kiss, wrapping both his hands around her back and pulling her close, closing the distance between them.

He kissed her more deeply this time and the warmth shot through her like lightning yet again, shattering the ice inside of her. She kissed him back, wishing she could feel this way forever.

They broke apart again and smiled at each other, both realizing how profoundly the kiss had affected one another.

"Elsa, I think… I think I'm in love with you." Drake said quietly as he brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. "I don't know how this all happened so quickly but…"

"I know…" She said cutting him off. "I don't understand it either." She said sincerely as she smiled up at him.

At hearing this he couldn't help himself and he leaned down and pulled her into another long kiss.

"Elsa," He said, still holding the side of her cheek and neck in his hand. "What happened to you?" He asked with a look of sadness. "I, I never saw you again after that day with the sled."

"I looked for you. My father and I came to your parent's funeral but no one would tell me where you were, and Anna didn't remember me either." He said with sad eyes.

"You did?" She asked softly.

A pained expression spread across her face. She knew she would have to tell him eventually. The way she felt about him, and the way he felt about her gave her the confidence to go ahead.

"Later that year, the year of the sledding accident, we, well I had another accident." Elsa said sadly. Her eyes looked very far away, haunted almost.

"That year, my sister and I were playing in the ballroom, with my powers, and… And I accidentally struck her in the head…" Elsa said, her voice choking off.

Drake brushed a stray tear away that had managed to escape from her eye.

Elsa took a deep shaky breath. "I thought, I thought for a minute that I had killed her… My parents took her to the trolls and they healed her, thank god, but her memory had to be erased. She remembered everything except that I had powers. From then on I distanced myself from her, I was kept away from her for her own safety. From everyone actually, including you." Elsa finished, wiping the stream of tears off her face. "Until, well until my coronation last summer."

"During the party I accidentally lost it and revealed my powers to the room, including the Duke of Weselton. I panicked and ran away, I came here actually, which is when I created this." She said gesturing around to the palace.

"I didn't realize I had set off an eternal winter…" She said with a pained expression. He could tell she was reliving the whole ordeal and wished he could save her from it. But he needed to know what had happened to her.

"Well, at least not until my sister came up here looking for me. She told me about the winter, and I lost it again," Elsa said with disgust. "I accidentally shot her again… In the heart this time…" Elsa said turning away from him. Reiterating the story like this made her sound like an out of control lunatic. She didn't want to see his face when he realized how truly dangerous she was.

"I hadn't realized I'd shot her, she seemed fine… If I had known I would have done something…" Elsa said, putting a hand up to her forehead.

"Shortly after that is when I was attacked here… After I blacked out they brought me back to Arendelle to execute me…" She said sounding drained of all emotion. "I woke up in the dungeon and broke out… I just wanted to get away. At that time I had no idea how to thaw ice and I thought if I just kept away from everything the blizzard would eventually go away."

"Out on the fjord I ran into Hans, the man I spoke of. He lied to me, in his own covert attempt to usurp the crown, and told me Anna was dead, and that I had killed her with my ice. I had never felt such despair in my life; it was greater even then when my parents died. Anna deserved so much better… At that point I really didn't care if I lived or died." She said in a hoarse voice as she wiped the tears away.

Drake stood in mute disbelief, he couldn't believe what she was telling him.

"Hans snuck up behind me and was about to kill me, but Anna came running over and got in between us. At the moment he swung his sword at her, she turned into solid ice, blocking the attack and saving my life." Elsa said, the tears streaming freely again. "After everything I did to her, she still sacrificed herself to save me…" She said in disbelief.

"For the second time I thought I had killed my sister… As I stood there, holding her frozen body, I decided I had no desire to live anymore..."

Drake had heard enough, he couldn't stand watching her suffer like this anymore. He finally understood why she was so deathly afraid of hurting people. He walked over and pulled her tight into a hug. He said nothing, just stood there holding her as she cried. There we're no words to express how terrible he felt for her, so he just held her.

"Your sister seems perfectly fine now?" He said as he gazed down at her, trying to take her mind off this.

"Yes, thank god…" Elsa said, composing herself. "I wish I could say I had a part in helping her, but I can't. By saving me she actually saved herself. Committing a selfless act of love like she did, broke the curse and thawed her."

Drake definitely had a new respect for Anna. He knew she loved Elsa, but he had no idea what these two had been through. He would be indebted to her forever for saving Elsa.

"Elsa, I have no words. No person should have to go through that. You and your sister have been through unspeakable trials and yet you both came out beautiful people. I don't know if you realize how amazing that is, or how much I admire you for it." He said as he wiped her tears again. He would protect her, and Anna, from anyone hurting them ever again. Just thinking about what she had just told him brought a lump to his throat. He swallowed as that lump suddenly turned to rage.

"These people will pay for what they did to you. So far I have heard nothing you did that warrant's what they're doing to you." Drake said menacingly as he held her. "If they come near you or Anna, I will kill them." He said seriously.

By his tone, Elsa could tell that he was very serious and she hugged him tighter. She wondered how different her life might have been if she had not lost him so long ago.

"Thank you for finding me again." She whispered.

"Thank you for letting me find you." He whispered into her hair.

Drake squinted as he gazed out balcony entrance over her head. Out around the edge of the mountains, he could just make out five ships approaching, and recognized them at once as allies of Weselton. He closed his eyes and held her tighter. He wished he could hold her like this forever and shield her from all the bad in the world. But he knew this time he could not.


	15. Dendrites

**Chapter 14: Dendrites**

* * *

"Drake, what's the matter?" Elsa asked as she pulled away from his grasp. She had felt his whole body tense and could sense something was wrong.

He looked down at her with sad eyes and then took her shoulders and turned her around so she was looking directly out the balcony.

Elsa squinted at the brightness outside. "Oh no…" She said as she walked across the room and out onto the balcony. Drake followed her out. She held up her hand to block the brightness of the sun.

"Five ships?" Elsa asked puzzled. "That hardly seems like a formidable attack. Maybe their not from Weselton?" She questioned.

"It's hard to tell from here, but I'm pretty sure I recognize them from Weselton Harbor. If they're not Weselton ships then they're their allies." Drake confirmed. "Regardless, we should get back. You see how they're docked around the side of the mountain like that? If we were down in Arendelle we wouldn't be able to see them where they're sitting now. I don't like it. They're waiting for something, nightfall, reinforcements maybe, there's no way to tell. But we're a step ahead of them now that we know they're out there."

Elsa agreed with him, but she couldn't understand why they would only send five ships. Arendelle may be small, but their navy could easily handle five ships. It didn't make sense and she didn't like it. "You're right, lets go."

* * *

"So tell me, _Princess_, what brings yeh all the way out here?" Vladimir asked as he towered over Anna, who was still on the ground cradling Kristoff's head.

Anna glared at him and said nothing. She recognized the imposing man above her as King Vladimir, the surly ruler of Weselton. The stories of his brutality were legendary. Her father couldn't stand the man and she knew he only stayed on terms with him to avoid conflict. But she couldn't understand how he had found the trolls, or why they had come up here in the first place. There was no way he could have known she was coming here, there had to be another reason he was here.

"Alright fine, if yeh don't want to talk, I will." He said in a calm tone that unnerved Anna.

"It looks like yer sister has made quite the mess of things. Many nations seem to have taken a strong disliking to her and her wicked sorcery." He said with a calculating glare.

"My sister is not a witch!" Anna barked. She was so fed up with people using Elsa's powers as an excuse to hate her. They were cowards. She had come to learn that the ones who hated Elsa most, were the ones who were the most fearful and ignorant. She also knew that fear could make people commit desperate acts, and that was what could get dangerous.

Vladimir merely smiled. "Many people would say otherwise." He said coldly. "People shouldn't have to live in constant fear that the Queen might strike them down, now should they?" He asked innocently.

Anna remained silent, she was not about to give him the satisfaction of her reaction.

His tone suddenly turned menacing. "I'm goin to personally see to the end of yer sisters reign of terror." He growled.

"You're no match for my sister." Anna spat sharply. She could feel the rage and desperation bubbling just beneath the surface. She knew she shouldn't be tangling with this man, but the rage gave her strength and confidence she didn't know she had.

His eyes narrowed. Where did this pathetic waif of a girl get off mouthing off to him like this? The idea of women ruling a kingdom had always disgusted him and he had fought bitterly with Arendelle's late King over that mandate. It started giving women ideas that they could do and say whatever they pleased to whomever they pleased. They needed to stay in their proper place as far as he was concerned. This one would soon learn that lesson the hard way, he thought indignantly.

"Yeh'd do well to watch yer mouth." He spat.

Anna could see the cold hate in his eyes and she turned away.

"Regardless, I will have the Queen under my control, one way er another. Women have no place ruling a nation, as yer sister has so clearly demonstrated." Vladimir said cockily. He bent down so he was inches from her face. "Very beautiful woman, the Queen is. I'm sure yeh can imagine all the things I'll do to her when I have her." He whispered menacingly into her ear.

This pushed Anna over the edge.

"Don't you touch her!" She spat in his face. "I lied, I hope you try, Elsa will strike you and all your cowardly men down with one blow!" Anna snarled at him.

He smiled. That was what he needed to hear from her.

"Careful Princess, the bond of love can be a dangerous thing, a nasty little weakness that can be used to an opponents advantage." He said with a smirk.

"Take her." Vladimir said offhandedly as he gestured to a large guard.

"No! Don't! Take me!" Kristoff cried out in a hoarse voice as he winced.

Vladimir ignored him.

Just then two large boulders rolled up, landing directly in front of Anna and Kristoff. "What is your business here?" Pabbie asked as he came to halt in front of Anna. Bulda landed near Kristoff and began assessing his wound.

"An insurance policy." Vladimir said nonchalantly.

"You must leave, you are not taking the girl." Pabbie said calmly.

This caused Vladimir to chuckle. "Oh yeh? What are yeh and yer clan of cowardly rocks goin to do about it?" He said amusedly.

"Only one who is weak of mind and fearful would conspire to abduct a woman. Those who seek power and control through fear and intimidation, cowards shall they be named. You have been warned. Leave now, your kind is not welcome here." Pabbie said authoritatively.

At this Vladimir became enraged.

"How dare you lecture me old man." Vladimir spat as he drew his sword and pointed it at Pabbies neck.

"It is for your sake and the sake of the misguided ones who follow you that I hope you realize the error of your ways." Pabbie said as he stomped the ground with one foot.

Suddenly, all the trolls began flying at the intruding soldiers.

Anna quickly realized what was happening and threw herself over Kristoff in an attempt to shield him from harm.

Vladimir looked around confused as boulders of all different sizes began shooting at his men from all directions. He could hear them cry out in pain as the trolls rock hard exterior struck bone. Their weapons were proving mostly ineffective against the attack.

He turned back just in time to see the old troll roll up and fly at him with such speed he couldn't get out of the way in time. He was suddenly knocked off his feet as he took a hard hit to the chest. He lay there for a minute regaining his breath. He quickly looked around and saw that the Princess still wasn't far to his right. He glanced to his left and saw that the old troll was about to launch at him again, so he ducked and rolled to his right. He felt the wind from where the old troll had flew past him, nearly hitting him in the head.

Anna suddenly felt a large arm grab her around the neck and rip her off of Kristoff.

"Enough!" Vladimir roared as he pressed his sword to Anna's neck, standing up so she acted like a body shield to him.

All the trolls abruptly stopped attacking.

Anna swallowed, she could feel the edge of the blade on her skin.

"Listen to me old man," Vladimir spat at Pabbie. "Yer goin to go get yer little fire crystals and give them to me, or I will slit her throat on the spot!" He growled in frustration as he pressed the sword a little harder into Anna's neck.

Pabbie stood there eyeing Vladimir before speaking. "I know your motive for seeking the crystals. I must warn you it will not go as you expect. The fire crystals are meant to relieve those cursed with magic of the burden. They are not meant to be used on those born with the gift."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vladimir spat.

"I cannot say what will happen but it is something that should not be attempted. Magic in those who are born with it is an innate part of their soul. It is very different from those who are cursed with the abilities, that magic should not be there in the first place so it is easily removed. However, one cannot simply remove a part of a persons soul."

"So will it suppress the Queen's powers er not?" Vladimir asked in a dark tone.

"I cannot say, it has never been tried on one born with the gift." Pabbie answered honestly.

Vladimir rolled his eyes. "Just give them to me." He said as he pressed the blade harder into Anna's neck, drawing a small bit of blood.

Anna gasped as she felt the blade cut into her throat. She closed her eyes and flashes of Elsa and Kristoff went through her mind. She didn't want to die, she thought as a tear rolled down her face.

"Anna…" Kristoff said weakly.

Pabbie reached behind his neck and undid a necklace. He walked over to Vladimir and held out the necklace he had just removed, which had three small burning red crystals dangling from it.

Vladimir took the crystals in his hand that wasn't holding the sword up to Anna's neck. He could feel the warmth emanating from them and smiled wickedly.

"Only three?" He asked skeptically.

"That is all we have, fire crystals are very rare and powerful; many are not needed. Crystals can be very dangerous in the hands of those who do not understand how to use them. I suggest you proceed with caution."

"These just better work old man, er I'll come back here with five times as many men and kill every last one of you." He said sharply as he turned and began backing away from Pabbie, still holding the sword to Anna's neck. "Attack again and the girl will die immediately." He said warily as he gestured for his men to surround him. They hastily pulled out their shields and formed a circle around Vladimir and Anna.

Anna could feel the tears running down her face, she took one last look at Kristoff before the guards blocked her view. "I love you Kristoff..." She whispered. She prayed that the trolls would be able heal him. She didn't care what happened to her as long as Kristoff lived. She closed her eyes and thought of Elsa. She wished her sister was here, she just wanted to see her one last time. "I love you sis..." She whispered through her tears.

"No!" Kristoff yelled. "Please no!" He shouted desperately. He could feel tears beginning to burn his eyes. They couldn't take her… He would never see her again... He tried to stand up but every movement he made sent searing pain through his whole body. "I love you Anna..." He whispered as he watched Anna disappear into the forest. The men with the shields looked like an ice crystal; one with many branches that was melting into the forest. This human ice crystal was taking with them everything he cared about, Kristoff thought sadly as his whole world suddenly faded out and he lost consciousness.


	16. Thaw

**Chapter 15: Thaw**

* * *

"So am I allowed to talk or is that against the rules?" Anna asked as she followed Vladimir through the woods, catching her boots on vines that crawled in the underbrush. She cursed the stupid vines for almost causing her to trip again.

She'd tried to make a break for it nearly an hour ago but that turned out not to be the smartest plan. She'd caught her boot on a root causing her to trip and one of the guards had grabbed her before she could recover and make a break for it. Much to her unamused displeasure, all she got in return were laughs and sneers from the men, though they were walking closer to her now, she noted.

She gave up on trying to escape for the time being and resolved that the best use of her time would be to try to get some answers. She figured if they wanted to kill her they would have done it already, so there had to be something more going on with all of this. Even if the crystals somehow worked to suppress Elsa's magic, Vladimir would never be able to get close enough to use them on her and she was at least thankful for that. She knew he wouldn't volunteer any information directly, but she surmised that maybe she could get some answers inadvertently.

When he didn't respond she went ahead anyway. "You know, what happened last summer, the winter, it wasn't entirely my sisters fault." Anna said seriously. He glanced back for a brief moment; she could tell she had piqued his interest.

"If you want to know the truth it was my fault." She said with a hint of sadness. "Elsa spent her entire life trying to suppress her powers… We had gotten into a fight, and I pushed her too far. She froze everything by accident— she didn't mean it." Anna implored. "Despite what you think, my sister is not a monster. She would never use her powers to hurt anyone intentionally." She finished in a heated tone.

"That's irrelevant. It is for the greater good that she is taken out of commission. We can't have another little accident like we did last summer." Vladimir said flatly.

"It's not like that anymore, she knows how to control it now. She's not a danger. What right do you have to decide peoples lives for them?" Anna asked forcefully.

"What right does the Queen have to wield such destructive powers? How is that fair? There is no defense against what she can do. Suppose one day some nation decides that they no longer wish to do business with Arendelle. What's teh stop her from submerging them in an eternal winter just for disagreeing with her?" He retorted.

Anna sighed in exasperation. "Its not… My sister wouldn't do that, she's not like that." She could see she was getting nowhere with this.

He didn't care what the temperament of the Queen was, all he knew was that she had power. Power that he wanted. With that kind of power and fear at his disposal, or even the illusion that he wielded her power, he would have anything he wanted. She didn't have a clue how to rule with such a gift, but he did. He would be known as the King who controlled the Snow Queen. All the lands would bow before him out of fear that he would strike them down by the hand of her power. It was a glorious thought.

"Why is love a weakness?" Anna asked changing the subject. "You said before that love is something that can be used by your opponents against you. So what, are you supposed to go through your whole life never having loved anyone? That seems like a pretty sad existence if you ask me and I know from experience that life doesn't work like that. Love is a basic human need, without it you might as well be dead." Anna snapped. She could see Vladimir stiffen slightly, she had hit a nerve.

This girl knew nothing. He didn't need love to enjoy life, all he needed was power and he could have anything he desired, including women. He shook his head slightly. "Such a naive little love struck girl yeh are. Love has no place in the lives of the strong and powerful. It's a weakness and a distraction such that it muddles up the minds of competent men. People can and will use it against yeh." He said offhandedly.

She certainly had learned that lesson the hard way with Hans. Still, even if she had never fallen in love with Kristoff, she didn't think that she could ever have stopped believing in love. Her love for Elsa had stayed strong even after years of separation. She wondered what had caused Vlad to speak so derogatorily about the matter. She couldn't be sure, but she had a suspicion.

"So what happens when you get my sister under your control? What then? So the realms will be safe from her supposed icy threat. Then what? What do you get out of all this trouble? If you don't want to kill her and you don't want love then what do you want?" She pressed. She could tell she was irritating him but she continued to push him.

"I'll tell you what you want, you want to be able to control people, that's what you want. That's why you need my sister, for power and control. Are you really so insecure that you have to use my sister to gain respect, that you have to use her power to control people with fear because no one will love or respect you on your own? Well your wasting your time because she will never do your bidding for you." Anna said defiantly. She didn't care, if she was going down she was not going down without a fight.

He swiftly turned around and backhanded her across the side of the face.

Anna went spiraling to the ground from the force of the blow. She lay there, stunned for a moment as she waited for her vision to return.

"I do not need a woman in order to gain respect." He spat viciously at her.

Anna sat up as her vision slowly came back.

"Really? Because it sure seems like you do. Without my sister to do your bidding, Weselton is just a pathetic Kingdom that can't even function without the goods we supply to you." Anna retorted. She knew it was lunacy to carry on but something inside of her kept involuntarily spouting off her contempt.

She flinched as Vladimir picked her up off the ground by her neck, putting his face inches from hers.

"When the time comes, I am goin to kill yeh and it wont be over quickly." He said viciously. He then whipped her around and shoved her out in front of him.

Anna walked the rest of the way in silence. The last thing he said kept ringing in her ears. 'When the time comes…' Why didn't he just kill her now and get it over with? Why prolong the inevitable? It would certainly give Elsa the motivation she needed to murder this savage man, she thought indignantly. She quickly retracted the thought. She knew how her death would ruin Elsa not to mention Kristoff. No, she had to find a way out of this.

When they made it out of the woods Anna could see only two ships on the water. She had expected to see the entire war fleet parked out there, but two ships didn't make any sense.

He dragged her up to the ship and down to the brig where prisoners were kept. He opened a cell door and forcefully threw her in, locking it behind him.

"Enjoy yer stay Princess." He growled through the bars, then turned and walked up the stairs.

Anna sat on the cold, dank floor and tried to look around, it was so dark she could hardly see anything at all. She hated being alone, it reminded her of the desolate years she'd spent wandering the palace. She wrapped Elsa's cloak tighter around her, pulling her knees up to her chest. She rested her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes. How was she always making a mess of things like this? Somehow, her well-intentioned disposition always got her into trouble.

She took in Elsa's scent from the cloak and tried to pretend that her sister was here with her now, sitting beside her.

She let herself sink back into the foggy memories from when they were children. She remembered playing with and loving Elsa very much, but she still couldn't call up one fragment of a memory that had to do with her magic. It was entirely frustrating, like walking into a room and forgetting what you went in for. The memories were so close yet they just slipped away as soon as she thought she remembered something.

Shortly after the incident in summer, she realized how much it disturbed her that she had no memories of Elsa's powers, and one night she finally confronted her about it.

Although they were closer then ever, it was still like prying up nails to get Elsa to open up about anything, and in her usual fashion, she tried to deflect the conversation.

"Anna, this isn't important, really. Just please let it go." Elsa had said in a mildly patronizing tone. Anna had come to realize that she would do this when she didn't want to talk about something.

"Elsa, please don't do this again, I want to know, I deserve to know. I remember how close we were, you all might have thought I was stupid and naïve but I knew something was going on. The way we were, I knew you wouldn't just abruptly shut me out like that, but I never even got the chance to talk to you about it." Anna said pleadingly.

Elsa felt a pang in her heart. "No one thought you were stupid Anna." She said softly. "But I've told you all this already, my powers were becoming too dangerous and we all did what we thought was best. It's no secret that I've always had a mountain of issues that I needed to work through over this. We just thought it was better if I figured them out away from you."

"We? So Mama and Papa were in on this too? Did any of you ever stop and think to ask me what I wanted?" Anna asked sounding wounded.

"Yes, no… We weren't 'in on anything' Anna. It's just the way it had to be. Blame me if you want to but don't blame Mama and Papa, they tried to help me, but you know how I am. I need to figure things out for myself."

Anna sighed.

"I don't blame you for anything Elsa, I just still don't understand why you could never tell me; I could have helped you with it. Or why Mama and Papa would just go along with it." She added sadly.

"It wasn't your problem to worry about. You were such a happy little girl, how fair would it have been for me to thrust all my fears and problems on you and take you down with me?" Elsa said sincerely. "Mama and Papa did the best they could with the situation, but they knew it would only make it worse when I was around you."

"But see that's what I don't understand! You were fine around them apparently and you were fine around me until one random day when you decided that you weren't!" Anna said heatedly. "You're my sister Elsa, I need to know this. This is the one thing that has cut me deep for years." She said, softening her tone. "Why was I the one you had to shut out? Did I do something to you? And why can't I even remember your powers from when we were kids? I mean, this is not like, 'well I was little and my memory is foggy' this is like a complete mind wipe. I can't remember one instance of your powers from when we were growing up." Anna said desperately. She had to take a deep breath after that rant.

Elsa turned away from her. It killed her that Anna thought she had done something wrong. Anna did deserve to know, she just couldn't bring herself to tell her what had really happened.

"Elsa please, don't do this to me anymore. Whatever it is I can handle it." Anna said softly.

Elsa felt a tear roll down her face as she looked out the window. "What exactly do you remember?" She asked quietly.

This took Anna by surprise. "Oh, well, I'm not sure exactly. I remember it was right around the time I got sick." Anna said puzzling it over.

Elsa turned around to face her. "Except you never were sick." She said sadly.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Anna asked, clearly lost.

Elsa bit her lip. "Do you remember anything from right before that?" She asked warily.

"Um, well no. Not really. I mean, I think we were playing like we always did. Outside, in the ballroom, something like that."

Elsa took a deep breath. "We were playing in the ballroom." She confirmed. "Only we were playing in the snow, we were playing with my powers."

Anna's mouth dropped open. "We were?" She asked stunned. "But then why can't I remember it?"

This was the part Elsa had been dreading. "We were playing around and… there was an accident and you were hurt." Elsa said despondently. "Mama and Papa had to take you to the trolls and they healed you, but in order to do so they had to subdue part of your memory."

"Wait, back up a minute. So I wasn't sick, I was hurt?" Anna asked confused. "How?"

Elsa stayed silent.

"I hurt you." She finally said glancing down at her hands. "With my powers." It felt vile to finally say that out loud.

"You hurt me…" Anna repeated as her voice trailed off. She scrunched her eyebrows as the realization hit her. "So all this… was because of me?" She asked, sounding far away.

"No, Anna… This had nothing to do with you, this was about me and my inability to handle my panic and my powers." Elsa said sincerely. She was afraid Anna would do this. It had been part of the reason she didn't want to tell her in the first place.

Anna just stared at the wall. All these years praying that she hadn't done something to drive Elsa away and now her worst fear was just confirmed.

"That's why Mama and Papa were so willing to go along with it. They thought reckless little Anna would cause another accident." Anna said dejectedly.

"What? Anna, no, how can you even begin to think that this was your fault? Listen to me," Elsa said as she gently grabbed Anna by the shoulders. "I'm the one that struck you, in the head. It was a complete accident but if anyone is to blame it's my carelessness." She said, adjusting her head lower so she was looking directly at her sister's eyes. She would not let her take the fall for this.

Anna still stared off despondently.

"You're never careless… I am…" Anna said in a monotonous whisper, the realization threatening to drown her.

"Look at me Anna." Elsa said gently as she swept a stray piece of hair behind her sister's ear. Anna slowly adjusted her gaze so she was looking up into Elsa's eyes. Elsa could see that her eyes were red and watery and it pained her. "None of this was ever your fault, I need you to know and believe that. You have saved me in more ways then one and I could have never asked for a more exceptional person to call my sister. But Anna, despite everything, you are still my little sister and saving me is not the burden you were meant to carry. I'm supposed to be the one protecting you but instead, all I've ever accomplished was putting your life at risk." Elsa said sadly.

Anna looked back at her with tears in her eyes. Her bottom lip began to quiver as she fought off crying.

"I'm so sorry Anna, you deserved so much better then I've given you." Elsa said as she pulled Anna's head into her shoulder and hugged her.

Anna hugged her back tightly and let the years of built up emotion spill out as she cried into her big sister. With the tears came sublime relief. It felt like a huge weight had suddenly melted off of her shoulders and she was at peace for the first time in a very long time. She prayed that nothing would ever separate them again; she didn't think she could bear to go through it.

Anna slowly came back to the desolate reality of the cell where she sat, painfully alone. She touched her cheek, and found that it was wet. She hadn't even realized she'd been crying. It may not have been on purpose, but she was indeed skilled at getting herself into precarious situations, she thought bitterly. She sank her head back down into her knees and tried to drown out the piercing silence of being alone.

* * *

Vladimir stood alone on the deck of the ship staring at the burning red crystals in his hand as the sun sank beneath the horizon. They were mesmerizing to look at and he could feel their warm energy coursing through his body. He had never felt anything like it before, it was as if he had access to some boundless energy field that connected all things and by holding the crystals, he became one with it.

He could feel different things… Power to be sure, but a great force or presence pulsed like a heartbeat; the crystals felt almost alive. His instincts and intuition felt heightened. He was more alert and aware then he'd ever been before and he could sense the most efficient cognitive path to a solution with perfect clarity. He could also feel the balance of energy the crystals kept, as soon as he set them down the energy force left him, presumably retreating back into the crystal until he would pick it up again. The power was seductive and overwhelming at the same time and as he stared off into the setting sunset all the puzzle pieces clicked into place, and he knew exactly what he needed to do.


	17. Northern Lights

**A/N: Hi everyone. For those of you who just got my new update alert for jan 30th it's not for this chapter, this one is still old. It was because I posted a new prologue but I had to reorder the chaps so it's before chap 1. Anyway there's been some confusion, but thats what's new. Thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Northern Lights**

* * *

Elsa and Drake were flying towards Arendelle at top speed, pushing the horses faster and faster.

It was a mostly dark, moonless night but the glow from the auroras cast a dim, eerily greenish glow that shifted across the land. Elsa gazed up at them through the trees, letting their familiar glow wash over her.

For as long as she could remember she had been transfixed by the auroras, by the perfect beauty and complex mystery of those ever-changing ribbons in the sky. They were like an old friend smiling down on her, reminding her that no matter how trapped she felt; freedom still existed. She could swear that if she stared up at them for long enough she could feel their magnetism like a living entity. It was almost as if they were made of energy themselves and she could feel the aura they emitted.

Sometimes she would take Crystal up to the high mountains just to watch and feel them shift for hours, lost in thought. Half the time she wouldn't even realize how long she'd been up there until the dark sky would begin to lighten. After her parents passed, she took up a habit of talking to the lights, imagining that her parents were beautiful jets of color swirling around up there and could hear her. In the tranquil silence of the night, she would close her eyes and try desperately to listen for them answering her back; but all she was ever met with in return was the faint, eerie, hissing moan that the auroras sometimes emitted.

With the days growing rapidly shorter, it seemed like the auroras were almost a permanent fixture now. She used to graciously welcome the long nights of winter because the long nights meant shorter days and shorter days created a reasonable excuse for her to spend less time around people. Of course, since she'd gotten a better grasp on the control factor of her powers, being around people was far less stressful then it had once been, though it was still not a favorite pastime. Even so, something about the long nights of winter and the living auroras would always have a place in her heart.

She shook her head slightly. She needed to focus. Her head was still hazy from the loss of blood and it felt to her like the events since she left that morning were one long, continuous blur. So much had happened during the short day that thinking about it made her head spin, especially the kiss. She never once thought she would be able to kiss or even touch someone without hurting them, and yet, she just had. Not only had she enjoyed it, but her power hadn't even tried to make an appearance, she mused triumphantly. The kiss was like a small victory, a small but significant step towards the normalcy she so craved. It felt like she was living someone else's life; someone who was far braver and bolder and much closer to normal then she ever thought she could be.

She took a deep breath and allowed the crisp night air and the glow from the auroras flow through her, relaxing and focusing her soul.

The stark image of those five ships lurking out on the water snapped her out of her reverie and pushed her to ride faster.

"That's my girl." Elsa said quietly as she pushed Crystal faster. Crystal had done it. She had figured it out and could do all things. Elsa smiled as she stroked her long white mane; she was determined to catch up with her.

Something bright suddenly flashed over the water near the palace, which was still some distance below them.

Elsa watched and could see another bright fiery object soar through the sky, only this one flew in the direction of the palace, not away from it like the first.

"The trebuchets…" She said in horror as she immediately recognized what the flaming masses were that were being hurled through the air. One after another more flaming boulders were being launched at the palace from what Elsa assumed were the five ships they had spotted earlier. She quickly turned to look at Drake.

"I see it." He said back to her reading the look on her face.

Elsa could see that there were many more flaming boulders being fired at Arendelle then away from it. Her engineers hadn't had nearly enough time to create the number of trebuchets they had discussed. She was amazed that they we're launching anything back at all. It was also dark, which meant the navy was going to have poor visibility; she needed to get down there, now.

When they finally reached the stables Elsa could hear the panicked screams coming from the town and the crashes that the boulders made as they struck stone and other objects. The screams of her people cut through her like a serrated knife and she could feel the ice crawling up her veins.

They quickly tied the horses up and began running towards the rampart that would take them over the small section of the fjord and directly into the palace grounds.

"They _were_ waiting for night." Elsa said bitterly as they ran along the rampart. It disgusted her that they resorted to a nighttime sneak attack like this. Then again, she expected nothing less from Weselton.

"Elsa stop!" She heard Drake yell from a pace behind her. She suddenly felt him grab her and throw her backwards behind him as a large boulder landed on the stone rampart feet in front of them, creating a gaping crater.

They both lay there momentarily disoriented.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked in panic.

Drake gave her a thumbs up. "You seem to have a knack for attracting flying objects." He said in jest as he helped her up.

Elsa smiled briefly as they started to run again.

She suddenly realized that she hadn't even seen the boulder coming. That one wasn't set aflame and in this darkness she had completely missed it.

"Drake… I can hardly see in this darkness. I need to get out on a ship so I can aim."

He didn't respond right away. She could almost hear him contemplating, but she knew there was no other way and he would come to that realization too.

"Can't you just freeze the whole fjord from up here?" He offered.

An image of countless frozen ships jutting out of the fjord like spectral tombstones flashed in her memory. "I can't, our ships are out there too."

He was silent for a moment.

"I'll take you." He said finally. "We'll get you close enough so you can aim."

"Drake!" They heard a voice call out as they reached the palace grounds. It was Marek, running towards them.

"Where have you been? We need to get out there!" He yelled as he approached them.

"We need to get her out there so she can aim at these cowards. It's too dark to see from up here and their just going to sit way the hell out there and keep launching at us." Drake said urgently.

Marek briefly noted how close Drake was standing to her. "Alright lets go."

"Wait." Elsa said urgently. "Have you seen my sister?" She asked Marek, her panic rising.

"No, I'm afraid not. Your Majesty the sooner you get out there the sooner you can eliminate the threat. Right now that's the best way to protect your sister." He said sincerely.

Elsa knew he was right. She needed to be the Queen right now, not a panicking older sister. She nodded and followed as they all turned to run down the rampart that led to the harbor. She knew if Anna was already back at the palace, Kai would keep her safe. Especially in her absence everyone would insure Anna's safety as the next in line, she reasoned— more for her own sanity then anything else.

They ran past readied archers who we're aiming but couldn't see or reach their targets. Elsa could see the flames coming from several buildings in the town below them and she ground her teeth. She prayed that Anna was still safely up in the woods with Kristoff and forced herself to look away and keep in control, at least until they got out on the water. The she could release a violent icy fury on the intruding ships.

"We need to get out of here quickly." Marek stated as they approached the steps to the harbor. "They've mostly been aiming at the harbor trying to take out our ships and have already gotten a few that were on their way out." He finished warily.

"Then we have no time to waste." Elsa said authoritatively as she motioned for him to take the lead. She was going to kill them, all of them— she didn't care.

She followed Marek and Drake as they led her up to his large black ship. It was quite imposing, with its strange pointed sails and dark color, it somewhat resembled a dragon, she thought.

Halfway up the gangway, she jumped as a fireball suddenly landed on the dock where they had just been standing moments ago.

She ground her teeth together in fury, swatted her cape out of the way and continued up the gangway with a resolute stride.

"Sir, there is very little wind tonight. It's going to be trouble getting out there with little speed and having to avoid the falling boulders." One of the men said to Drake as soon as they were on board.

"I can propel us." She said without thinking. She suddenly retracted the idea, but it was too late, the proposal was out in the open. "I'll stay in the stern and blow wind at the sails until we get far enough out on the fjord." She hoped she could. With her mounting rage, the last thing they needed was for her to lose it and destroy Drake's ship.

"Brilliant." Drake said with a smile as he directed her to the back of the ship.

"Anchors aweigh!" A voice in the darkness called.

"When you're ready." Drake said, standing behind her. "I'll let you know when to speed up or slow down, the men will adjust the sails so you won't have to steer." He said calmly.

Elsa nodded. She took a deep breath and raised both her hands so they were pointing at the sails. She needed to be careful with this—focus. Too much and she could blast the sails away or freeze them.

"You can do it." Drake said softly near the top of her ear.

She released, letting a steady stream of cold, icy air stream up towards the sails. The sails filled with air, took form and the ship began to move through the harbor. She let out a breath, relieved that she hadn't blasted the sails off the mast.

Drake put his hands gently on her waist. "Alright good. Now, give it a little more so we can get out of here quickly." He said, standing close behind her.

His hands on her waist and presence behind her relaxed her and let her focus on releasing just the right amount of air. She slowly released more until they were cutting across the harbor at a good clip.

The ship turned, making its way around the harbor wall and out the gates onto the dark fjord.

"They had to turn the sails so we could get around the wall, I'm just moving you a bit to maximize the directional force on the sails." He said as he moved her few feet to the left, still holding her waist. She nodded as he guided her.

She took a deep breath and kept the steady stream of controlled air flowing. Don't feel… Focus... A little longer, not just yet.

"Ok we're out. Give it some more." He said over he shoulder.

She released more and they began flying over the fjord. The further out they got, the fewer fireballs rained down.

"Perfect, that's enough." He said, gently squeezing her waist. "The wind out here will take us the rest of the way."

She stopped and lowered her hands, turning to face him. "Thank you."

He smiled at her. "Nothing reckless, promise me Elsa." He said seriously. He could see the fiery determination he so loved, burning in her icy eyes and it worried him. He had no idea what she was going to do out there, but he was sure it would somehow involve putting herself in grandiose danger, one of her most contested skills.

"Just reckless enough to knock them into tomorrow." She said coldly, raising her eyebrow with a half smile.

At that he couldn't help but smile. "Ok lets get ready." He said as they began walking to the front of the ship. "I'm going to have the men, and myself, surrounding you near the front of the ship. As soon as they realize you're on this ship, their going to come at us. If you see something coming at you, get down and out of the way of it. The men have orders to shield you with their lives."

She felt a knot tighten in her stomach. She knew that it was necessary for her to live, to be the one who was protected— tactically speaking. But the thought of people dying in her place sickened her.

"Hopefully I can get them before it comes to that." She said seriously.

Drake slung a quiver over his shoulder and was handed a crossbow.

Elsa took the position that gave her the best view and then the men surrounded her in a ring.

"I can see them!" Marek yelled from his post up at the wheel. "I'm taking us directly at the one furthest from the group!" He shouted.

Elsa squinted through the darkness. She could just make out a staggered line of five ships, the same five ships she had seen earlier that day, floating like sinister specters on the smooth glassy water. The furthest of the five ships away from them was in a heated battle with some of Arendelle's own ships. She was thankful that none of her ships seemed to be near them.

The familiar, overpowering weight of the emotions that would eventually bring on the ice, were threatening to drown her. Only this time, she welcomed them.

Taking a deep breath, she focused on the ship they we're approaching. This needed to be direct and controlled, or she could cause problems for her own ships if she lost control and shot off too much ice.

Another deep breath as she channeled all of her anger and fear and brought it to a point. Her mind swirled with the painful thoughts of innocent lives being lost, surreptitious plans of attack, her parents drowning and Anna's safety. She squeezed her head between the palms of her hands, the emotions were crushing her, but she was ready. The ice was flowing freely now, all over her body, begging to be released and for once, she willingly obeyed.

In one fluid motion she violently pulled up a giant pointed piece of ice from the depths of the fjord and directly though the target ship. She raised both of her hands skyward and pulled the spire of ice higher into the sky. The impaled ship rose into the air with the ice and she pulled it upwards until the ship was nearly one hundred feet above the water. With a sigh of relief she let the ice from the spire spread out over the ship freezing it entirely. It took so much effort, so many years of practice to suppress the ice when it built up like that that she had almost forgotten what a relief it was when she was able to freely release it.

The men that surrounded her slightly lowered their crossbows and shields and stared up at the sight, awestruck.

"One down." Drake said with an approving nod as he turned and smiled at her.

Suddenly, two balls of fire rained down on them, nearly hitting the ship.

"Turn us!" Drake yelled at Marek.

Elsa could feel the ship beginning to turn. Drake had been right. As they turned she could see the three other ships that were not occupied in battle begin to turn towards them.

Another fireball came sailing down towards them, this one took out part of the railing near them as it soared past and eventually hit the water.

Elsa smirked. Unbeknownst to her intruders, they were actually helping her channel her powers with these little displays of affection, she thought caustically.

"Alright, go for the closest one as soon as you can, they're going to try and surround us." Drake said calmly to her as he got back into position.

As they approached the next ship, she could see the other two split off from the one they were headed for. The one ship continued coming towards them, but it was swiveling. They had undoubtedly seen what she had done to the previous ship and thought they could avoid her by moving like a serpent. Elsa smirked again; they weren't getting away that easily.

She again reached down to pull up ice, but this time, she instead brought up a ring of several thinner, pointed spires around the swiveling ship. The ship didn't have time to stop and it crashed headlong into the spires she had just created.

The rage she felt was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. These people deserved to die. What right did they have to dictate her life? A life she was working tirelessly to salvage. What right did they have to terrorize innocent people who had nothing to do with this? They had no right. She imagined the ship as Vladimir's head and violently, one by one, curved the upright spires so they squeezed the ship and encased it like vines. She kept squeezing until she heard the unmistakable sound of wood snapping and buckling.

"Don't be the monster they fear you are..."

Hans words abruptly cut through her like lightning, sending a jolt from her mind down to her heart. She paused momentarily at the sudden shock of the memory. He was right. She was not like Vladimir or Hans— a monster, a terrorizer, a manipulator. She abhorred these people for what they we're doing to Arendelle, but she would not let herself sink to their depths. She would only be proving to the world that she was everything they feared she was. Slowly, she dropped her hands, relinquishing the pressure of the ice and suppressing the emotions as she was so adept at doing— leaving the ship in a mangled icy heap.

Suddenly a loud crack snapped her out of her trance; Drake's ship had just taken a hit from the rear. She turned and saw that the last two ships were coming at them from behind with some of her own ships in close pursuit of the intruders.

"Oh no..." She murmured as she burst through the wall of men surrounding her and took off running towards the stern of the ship.

"Elsa wait!" Drake shouted after her. He motioned for the men to follow him as he took off after her.

The sky was beginning to lighten and she could see her targets more clearly now. She needed to be precise; she didn't want to hit the ships that we're pursuing the attackers. She could feel the ice within, still there at the ready, waiting for her to let it go. As soon as she reached the stern of the ship she used both of her hands to drive an icy spire up through one ship. She then quickly brought up two more large ice spears through the ship in an X formation, halting it completely.

She glanced to the side where the other ship had gotten dangerously close to them. She raised her arms, and with a final frustrated yell and large icy spire, she impaled the ship where it sat on the water.

Before she could raise the spire higher, she felt a shooting pain in the shoulder of her injured right arm. She cried out as she staggered and fell to the deck. Drake's men swiftly formed a shield around her.

She sat on the deck with one arm propping her up and glanced down at her arm. There she saw blood cascading down from the new wound in her shoulder.

She could hear the arrows bouncing off the men's shields and tried to focus, but she couldn't take her gaze away from the pouring blood. Snow started falling lightly around her.

"The ships can't move, get us away from them!" Drake yelled to Marek as he turned from his place in the shield and bent down next to her.

"Elsa…" He said as looked at her bloody arm. The arrow had cut a deep gash, but it wasn't a direct hit. He sighed in relief.

"Get me bandages and cloth. Now." He ordered to the nearest guard.

"Elsa, look at me." He said softly.

The snow was still falling quietly around them.

She stayed transfixed on the out-pouring of blood, barely breathing. Drake's voice, sounded like a far away echo. Everything, even the tiny snowflakes, seemed to be moving slowly, too slowly for her to move even an inch. She had to move, had to get up and finish this.

He tilted her face away from the blood. Her eyes looked hollow and far away.

"Elsa, don't look at it, you're going to be fine." He said reassuringly.

She could see pin pricks of black creeping around the corners of her eyes and fought to keep them away as she tried to focus on his eyes. She had to get up.

They had moved far enough away from the other ship that the arrows had finally stopped. The guards backed away, giving them space.

Drake carefully picked up her slight frame and carried her over to the side of the ship. He sat her down gently so she was leaning up against the ships hull.

"Elsa?" He said, looking into her eyes.

She blinked, focusing on his eyes. The world slowly started moving at normal speed again, but the darkness was still threatening the corners of her eyes.

"Are you with me?" He asked as he put a hand on the side of her face.

She nodded. "I'm fine." She managed in a whisper.

The guard returned and handed Drake the bandaging cloth.

"Stay with me ok? Don't go to sleep." He said as he removed the old piece of cloth that was already there. Her arm looked a mess. The tears from the wolf attack hadn't even had a chance to heal, and above that the gaping tear from the arrow was bleeding excessively.

He took the cloth and used it to stop the blood flow. She grimaced and turned her head away.

"I know, I'm sorry." He said quietly.

She leaned her head back against the side of the boat, forcing the blackness away. Looking up she could see her beautiful auroras fading with the dawn, and this saddened her. She wanted them to stay, to protect and comfort her; she was tired, so tired, of the things she cared about being ripped from her life when she needed them most. First Anna and her freedom, then her parents and now they were trying to take her kingdom and her life. The auroras were one thing she had left; they had no right to disappear on her. Why couldn't she keep just one thing for herself?

"Don't leave me... Please..." Was she speaking, or thinking? She couldn't discern between the two.

"Elsa, I'm right here." She thought she recognized the voice. Who's was it again? She couldn't place it. All she could think about was how unfair it was that her auroras were fading. Then there was snow, was she making it? She had to conceal it. Focus, don't feel... Hide it, don't let it show.

"Elsa." Drake said as he held her head between his hands. "Elsa look at me, stay here don't lose focus and fall asleep."

That voice was still a distant echo. Lose focus? She never lost focus. Focus was something she had taught herself to master. It was mildly amusing that this voice was reprimanding her about losing focus. She wished the auroras would stay.

"I'm not sure, she's lost a lot of blood today and she's small. I can't get her to snap out of it." The voice was becoming clearer. Were they talking about her? She needed to focus.

She was suddenly jolted back to reality by an incredibly sharp, pungent smell. She scrunched her nose trying to flush out the obnoxious odor and blinked as everything came back into focus. She found that she was now lying horizontal on the deck and realized the distant voice had belonged to Drake.

"Hey there. Don't move, just stay put and take deep breaths. You we're clocked out for a while." Drake said softly as he held the side of her face.

How long had she spaced out? She had only looked up at the auroras for a minute. She realized her arm was newly bandaged and no longer bleeding.

"You weren't gone very long, just relax and breathe." He said, answering her unspoken question.

"Sir, you need to take a look at this." Came the voice of a guard Elsa couldn't see.

Drake turned with a confused look on his face. "What is it? I can't right now."

"There's two more ships out there sir, heading this way."


End file.
